Let's escape (And just get away)
by fangirl-for-everything
Summary: The night of the Undertaking Felicity and Oliver both needed to forget what had happened. Together they help each other forget. Now two months later, Oliver is back and Felicity is pregnant.
1. The City of Heroes

Felicity was sick of puking. She had been run down for a couple days now, but the puking had only just started last night. Whatever flu she had must have worsened on her and Diggle's trip to Lian Yu to bring Oliver back.

She had just left the bathroom on the Executive floor after puking for the fourth time that morning when she ran into Dig and Oliver getting off the elevator.

"Thank god you are here. I don't think anyone's eating the bagels." Felicity rambled on to them. Oliver ignored her, but Dig offered her a small smile. _Ignoring,_ Felicity thought, _that's how this is going to go. Great._

As they walked into the boardroom and took their seats, Felicity got her first in person look of Isabel Rochev. The pictures didn't nearly show how scary she was.

The meeting began and Oliver was getting his ass handed to him. Before Felicity could figure out a way to help him, there was a crash and four masked men pushed their way into the boardroom with their guns pointed at Oliver.

The next thing Felicity knew, Dig pushed her to the ground just as the men began to shout and fire their guns off. Felicity couldn't hear anything, and she felt like she was in a tunnel. She did notice when one of the masked man ran towards a defenseless Oliver. John was too busy taking care of the other gunman to help so Felicity picked up a piece of chair that had broken in the fight and knocked the gunman over the head before he could shoot Oliver.

Before Felicity could blink, Oliver grabbed her hand and jumped out the window. One second Felicity was flying through the air and the next Oliver and she were crashing through another window and across a desk. The second Felicity's body caught up with the fact that it was done moving, her stomach decided to revolt. She rolled away from Oliver and right next to a trash can into which she emptied the contents of her stomach.

Felicity could tell her relatively peaceful summer was over.

By the time Dig had made it to the floor they had crashed into, Felicity was standing convincing Oliver that she was actually fine.

"Oliver I promise I'm fine. I just need to sit down." Felicity said as she and Oliver noticed Dig walking towards them.

"Well the masked men made a break for it as soon as you two jumped out the window. The police are on their way now." John said. Oliver was already beginning his way back to the Executive floor. John shook his head and turned to look at Felicity with a smile on his face. Felicity and Dig walked towards the elevator and waited for it to come back.

"Are you alright? I know you haven't been feeling good lately." John asked concerned, as they entered the elevators together. Felicity smiled at Dig's concern. The two of them had gotten close after the undertaking and Oliver fleeing. Even though she didn't tell him about the night after the Undertaking, because of her embarrassment, Dig could tell that something had happened and had silently helped her throughout the summer.

"I'm fine Dig. Really. This flu is just staying for a while." She was hoping it wouldn't stay for very much longer. The elevator binged open on the executive floor. Felicity could see Oliver speaking with multiple officers and a couple more officers roaming around the floor. Dig gave her a small smile and a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and went to talk with Oliver.

Felicity's adrenaline rush must have been crashing because she was suddenly exhausted. She moved to the couch in the office and slumped down on it.

"You don't look so good." A familiar voice rang out from above her, startling her. Felicity looked up to see Detective Lance smiling down at her. At her startled jump, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Wow. My apologies Ms. Smoak. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright. I've just had a pretty crazy day. Crazy year actually." Felicity mumbled out the last part as Detective Lance sat down beside her.

"I know the feeling. Speaking of, have you heard from our mutual friend lately?" Lance asked in a low voice.

"No. I'm starting to wonder when he's going to show up."

* * *

"You could've stopped those men." Felicity yelled at Oliver as she reentered the office after seeing the police officers to the elevator. The office had emptied and the three of them were alone. Oliver was pacing around the desk as Dig watched.

"What was I supposed to do Felicity? Anything I could have done would have revealed the identity of the Hood. Plus I'm done being that person. I don't want to be a murderer anymore." Oliver yelled back. Felicity rolled her eyes at his foolishness. It was obvious that Oliver had yet to heal from Tommy's death, and it was clouding his judgement.

"You know that's not what I meant. You don't have to kill people. Why don't you just, I don't know, find another way?" Felicity was starting to get pissed at Oliver.

"It's not that simple. When I put on the Hood its kill or be killed." Oliver said with a finality in his voice that meant the conversation was over. With the last word, Oliver grabbed his jacket and strode from the room.

As they walked towards the elevators, Dig looked at Felicity concern in his eyes. _Oh no_ , Felicity thought, _here we go again._

"What's going on between you two? You barely spoke to each other since he got back and now both of you are acting like you can't get away from the other fast enough." Felicity thought about telling Dig what really happened, but she wasn't looking forward to the judgy look he would give her or the anger he would feel towards Oliver.

"We just had a falling out before he left." Dig raised an eyebrow. "We both said things we didn't mean, and now we just don't know to get back to where we were before."

There that wasn't a lie. They had said things they didn't mean, and they were definitely stuck in a weird limbo where they both refused to talk about what happened.

Thankfully Dig took the explanation and didn't say anything else.

Felicity spent the rest of the afternoon at her apartment. She had planned on doing some housework while taking a look at the data she had pulled about the four masked men, but instead Felicity found herself sitting on her couch and falling straight to asleep.

She awoke to her phone going off. Felicity looked at the clock and realized she had slept for over four hours. Her night job should come with health insurance considering how much it negatively was affecting hers.

Her phone was ringing again, so Felicity grabbed it and pressed accept.

"Hello?" Felicity said groggily.

"Felicity, there's a situation at Verdant. I'll be at your house in five." Dig's voice rang out, and before Felicity could say anything else, he had hung up. Looks like manners weren't really at the moment.

By the time Dig knocked on her door, Felicity had ran a brush threw her door and had gathered her stuff. The ride over was short and silent beside for when Dig explained how Thea had been kidnapped. They got into the club just in time to see Oliver walk towards the basement.

They caught up to him just as he began to descend the stairs.

"I made a few improvements while you were away, just in case." Felicity explained as she turned on the lights.

"Let's find these guys." Oliver stated after a few moments, effectively ignoring her. She really needed to teach the both of them about manners.

"I've been trying since you got back." Felicity told him. She had been hoping he'd get his head out of his ass and help, but she didn't really want it to be at the expense of Thea.

As the three of them stood by Felicity's computer's, Oliver looked up at the salmon ladder and then raised a questioning eyebrow at Felicity, who in turn blushed. Oliver certainly still remembered the night from two months ago. Thankfully Oliver ignored it and went back into Hood mode.

By the time Felicity found the name Jeff Dereau and the address of the church Oliver wanted, he was looking at his arrows. Dig nodded at Felicity to show Oliver the bow she had made for him, but Felicity didn't feel up to Oliver ignoring her again, so she turned back to her computers.

Dig, the amazing man, didn't question her and strode to the case to show Oliver himself.

"You'll probably need this. Felicity had it custom made."

Felicity could fell Oliver's eyes staring at the back of her head but she refused to turn around and look at him. Felicity started writing down the address for the church. She could hear him take out the bow and examine it.

"It's perfect." He stated. Felicity was glad she hadn't turned around, because she was now blushing. By the time her blush had went down, she was done writing the address down.

"Here's the address of the church." She said as she turned around. Oliver gave her a brief look before putting the bow down and going towards the case that held the hood. Before he started suiting up he gave one last smile.

"Thank you." And with that Oliver grabbed his suit to get changed. Felicity smiled and turned back around.

Oliver finished putting on his suit, grabbed the sticky note with the address on it, and left.

Felicity felt a knot in her stomach which she tried to convince herself was just worrying about Oliver and how he would act out if he killed tonight, but deep down Felicity knew that she and Oliver couldn't keep pretending nothing had happened and talk about it. No matter how much she didn't want to.

* * *

The next day Oliver stood in front of the broad room firing back and forth with Isabel. This was the first time she had seen Oliver since last night. After getting the word that Oliver had saved Thea without killing, Dig noticed Felicity practically asleep at her desk and offered her a ride home.

Now that she had to think, Felicity knew that she had to talk to Oliver soon.

While Felicity was busy thinking about what she was going to say to Oliver, Walter walked into the room and saved Oliver's ass. The meeting came to an end now that Oliver and Isabel became partners. Walter walked up to her as the room emptied.

"Ms. Smoak. I hope all is well." He said as he stopped at her side for a brief second.

"It is Mr. Steele. Thank you." Felicity said with a smile. As Walter left, she turned back to Oliver who had sat back down. "Congratulations Oliver."

"It's like a good friend told me. I had to find another way." Oliver said with a small smile that soon disappeared. "Now that we're alone, I think we should talk."

Even though Felicity had thought the same thing, she wasn't quite sure she was ready to talk at this precise moment, but she knew it was now or never. She nodded at Oliver to continue.

"The night after the Undertaking wasn't easy. With failing the city and Tommy…" Oliver cleared his throat and looked up at her standing a few feet away. Felicity could tell where this was going. "I was in a bad state."

"We both were." Felicity mumbled as she shook her head.

"I just needed to forget so I drank the pain away and then I just wanted to…to…"Oliver stumbled over the words coming out of his mouth and couldn't quite figure out what to say.

"Feel something?" Felicity provided. Oliver sighed and closed his eyes.

"Yes. I'm sorry that I used you to do that. I also wanted you to know that night." Oliver paused for a moment. "It can't go any further than that."

 _Ah yes_ , Felicity thought, _the classic I-can't-be-with-you-I'm-damaged talk._

"I understand Oliver. And it's ok. Let's just forget about it." Felicity stated and without waiting for a reply, she left the room.

Felicity found out a week later that forgetting about that night was going to be much harder than she had originally thought. Because as she sat on her bathroom floor, she held the one reason why nothing was going to be the same.

A positive pregnancy test.


	2. Identity

Felicity couldn't believe this was happening. She was the most responsible person she knew. While all her friends in college had been getting drunk and hooking up, Felicity stayed in her dorm doing homework. Not that she didn't have any fun because she did. Felicity just wanted to finish without any setbacks that could come from a STD or a baby.

The first thing Felicity did after seeing the positive pregnancy test was freak out. After a short panic attack, she decided to push away her breakdown until she had confirmation that she was pregnant. She dragged herself off the floor and called her lady doctor to set up an appointment. The appointment had been made for the next morning and Felicity had set her mind on not thinking about how she could be pregnant with Oliver's baby.

 _She could do this_ , Felicity thought as she drove to work. Her job in IT meant she probably wouldn't even see Oliver till she got to the Arrow Cave later that night and even then it wouldn't be for very long.

As Felicity showed her badge to the security guard and entered the elevator to go to the IT floor, she began to feel better. Sure her life could possibly be in shambles, but for the next couple hours Felicity could get lost in code.

Felicity's good mood disappeared as she got to her desk to see her plants and nick-nacks gone and her boss standing there instead.

"Terry you can't fire me." Felicity pleaded. She needed this job if was pregnant. Heck even if she wasn't pregnant, Felicity still needed this job. "I know I've missed a couple days but I promise you it will never happen again." Until her maybe-baby was born.

Terry gave her a restrained smile.

"You're not being fired Ms. Smoak. You've been promoted by the CEO himself." Terry said with a clenched jaw. Obviously the man wasn't too happy about her promotion.

With that news, Felicity started to feel bad about how angry she was with Oliver. Although that anger could be due to her pregnancy hormones, that is if she was actually pregnant. God she was like a living Schrodinger's cat, just Schrodinger's baby.

"Promoted to what?" Felicity asked happily.

"Executive Assistant to the CEO." Terry informed her with a judgmental look.

That sentence made Felicity's anger towards Oliver return ten-fold. Did he even think about what people would think about them? They would think exactly what Terry was obviously thinking.

In a fuming state, Felicity strode from her old desk up to the executive floor, which was empty. This gave her a chance to figure out how to kill Oliver without being arrested.

Felicity heard the elevator open again a couple minutes after she had stepped out of it.

"I quit! Not my old job in IT but my new job as your Executive Assistant." Felicity yelled as soon as Oliver and Dig had left the elevator. Oliver rolled his eyes at her.

"No you don't Felicity. If I'm going to be Oliver Queen CEO, I need to be able to talk to you about our night job without raising suspicion." Oliver calmly stated as he entered his office with Felicity on his heels. As he sat down on his chair, he looked back up at Felicity.

"There is a group of men hijacking medicine meant for the Glades Memorial. Could you bring yourself to figure out how they pick their targets please?" Oliver asked. Felicity could kill him. She slammed her hand down on his desk.

"Fine. But under no circumstance will I be bringing you coffee." She angrily stated as she turned around and walked back to her new desk.

"How does Table Salt sound for the supper with Carly sound?" Oliver directed to Dig, who was standing at the door of Oliver's office. At the question, Dig winced.

"Sounds great." Dig ground out and then with a look towards Felicity walked into the office. Felicity couldn't believe how oblivious Oliver had to be not to notice Dig's pain. Although this ignorance could work in her favor, so that Oliver wouldn't notice her freaking out about her Schrodinger's baby problem.

After Felicity's terrible day at her new job, she was glad to enter the foundry and feel its safety. Oliver and Dig walked in just behind her.

"There is a shipment of medicine heading for Glades Memorial in 20 minutes." Felicity said to Oliver who just nodded and started to suit up.

Felicity sat down at her computer and starting working on some new programs she had meaning to start for a while. She was startled out of her computer trance by a phone ringing. Looking around, she noticed Dig and Oliver were both gone, still out to trying get the hijackers.

Realizing that the phone ringing was hers, Felicity answered it.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Smoak?" A female voice questioned.

"Yes?" Felicity was still very confused.

"This is Dr. Gunther's office. I'm just calling to confirm your appointment for tomorrow." Thank god both Dig and Oliver were gone because that one sentence turned Felicity into a puddle of nerves and panic.

"Y-Yes. Confirm the appointment. I would like-I want the appointment tomorrow morning, yes." Felicity said flustered.

"Wonderful. We'll see you tomorrow bright and early." The receptionist said before hanging up. Felicity put her head in her hands.

What was she going to do? She could be pregnant with Oliver's baby. They decided not to talk about what had happened between the two of them, and it was obvious Oliver had no interest in a relationship with her. Not that she needed a man to help her raise her Schrodinger's baby, after all it was the 21st century. Her own mother was a single mom, and Felicity turned out fine.

Felicity internally groaned. She was going to have to tell her mother.

No she couldn't think about that yet. Dig and Oliver were due back any moment, plus she wouldn't even know if was pregnant till tomorrow morning.

With that thought, Felicity began to compose herself just as Dig helped a limping Oliver down the stairs to the foundry.

"What happened?" Felicity asked as Dig sat Oliver down on a chair and went to get a medical it. Oliver winced as he began to shimmy out of the hood and leather pants that were covering his legs and his injured foot.

"The police came after us." Oliver informed her. Felicity pondered over this as Dig gave the medical kit to Oliver.

She then turned around as Dig helped Oliver into normal clothes and started stitching his leg up. She turned back once Dig started talking.

"The police have always had it out for the vigilante." He reminded them. Felicity watched as Oliver shook his head.

"This was different. It was more intense." Oliver denied.

"Why because it was Laurel leading the charge?" Dig questioned. Laurel was leading the police charge. If that's why Oliver was so flustered, it was just more proof that Oliver still had some feelings for the women.

"Because they got in my way! So what if it was Laurel!" Oliver yelled menacingly at Dig.

"Hey! Go easy on him!" Felicity yelled back. "Just because the love of your life is out to get your alter ego doesn't mean you can take it out on everyone else. You are so self-absorbed, you can't even see how Dig winces every time you bring up Carly."

With one last noise of frustration, Felicity grabbed her coat and left the foundry to allow Dig and Oliver their space to have their man talk.

Felicity wasn't sure what had come over her. Probably some mixture of hormones from her Schrodinger's baby and the reminder that Laurel would always be the be-all-end-all for Oliver. Whatever her feelings she had towards the man could never be reciprocated, and if she was in fact pregnant with his child, how would Oliver's relationship with Laurel affect his relationship with his child.

These worries kept her awake that night tossing and turning and clouded her mind all the way through till her appointment the next morning.

"Ok Ms. Smoak. We'll just take the blood to be tested to see if you are indeed pregnant. Then if it comes back positive, you can schedule an appointment for your ultrasound." Dr. Gunther told her as she sat on the exam table. Felicity gave her doctor a small smile before she took the vial with her blood away.

Felicity wasn't sure she would do if it turned out she was pregnant. This line of work wasn't exactly the safest, and she was dreading having to tell Oliver. He already had so many things on his plate already; she didn't want to add another.

By the time the doctor came back with the test results, Felicity had chewed her one thumbnail down to a nub and was starting on her other one.

"It looks like you are indeed pregnant. Congratulations. You're about 10 weeks along." The doctor's voice began to fade away as Felicity tried to keep away the rapidly approaching panic attack.

The rest of the day fell into a sort of a blur. She made an appointment for an ultrasound in a couple weeks and then went to work. Her workday was uneventful minus when Sebastian Blood had come for an appointment with Oliver. Other than that Felicity was able to dig deep into finding the masked men while ignoring the baby growing inside of her.

This worked up to the point in which she found herself down in the Arrow Cave with Dig and Oliver.

"What is your plan for these guys?" Dig asked Oliver. Before Oliver could answer him, his phone went off. Felicity and Dig waited as Oliver answered in his Hood Voice for a couple minutes before hanging up.

"That was Laurel. She wants a meeting with me." Oliver informed them as he began to go get his suit. Felicity couldn't believe what Oliver was saying.

"But you're not going right? Right?" Felicity questioned incredulously. She stood up from her computer chair and walked closer to him.

"Felicity." Oliver warned as he turned around to look at her.

"You couldn't possibly go because Laurel is after you. She'll arrest you the second she sees you!" Felicity argued exasperatedly. Oliver shook his head and went back to suiting up. Seeing that she wasn't going to get through to him, Felicity threw up her hands and walked back to her chair and slumped down in it.

Felicity refused to turn around when Oliver left. She couldn't believe that Oliver would risk arrest to try and convince Laurel to forgive the Hood. If Felicity needed further proof that Oliver could never be in a relationship with her, this lovely reminder that Laurel would always come first would do.

"All right. What's going on with you two?" Dig asked, startling her out of her self-loathing. Before she could deny, Dig interrupted. "And don't tell me that you guys just had some falling out. It's more than that."

Felicity sighed. She knew Dig wouldn't let it go until she told him the truth. She resigned herself to the fact she was going to have to tell him some of the truth.

"You're right. The night of the Undertaking, we didn't just have a falling out." Felicity mumbled out as she turned her chair to face Dig who was sitting on a chair at her side.

"Oliver came to my apartment with a bottle of whiskey, which he had obviously drank more than half of. It was hard night so I drank with him, and one thing led to another."

Felicity shrugged as she began to cry. Dig's face started to show his fury.

"I'm guessing by your guy's attitudes towards each other, you two aren't going to be living happily ever after." Dig mumbled out. He shook his head as he put his arms around her in a hug. Felicity was grateful for his comforting arms. For a couple minutes, Dig and Felicity just sat in silence as Felicity tried to put herself together.

The comfortable silence was broken as Oliver spoke over the comms to inform them his meeting with Laurel was done and to ask Dig to meet him at Queen Consolidated, after which he hung up. By the tone of his voice, Felicity could tell the meeting hadn't gone well.

"That boy will be lucky if I don't throttle him." Dig said disapprovingly as he stood up. Felicity shook his head.

"No Dig you can't say anything. The both of us agreed to put it behind us." Which admittedly would be impossible due to the child growing inside her. Dig gave her a reassuring smile and left the Arrow Cave to meet up with Oliver.

Pushing back her thoughts on her situation until she had time to think about it, Felicity put her entire mind on the task of stopping the medicine hijackers.

After about 15 minutes of hacking, Felicity found the next scheduled time for a medicine delivery at Glades Memorial. Which was five minutes ago. Crap.

Felicity hurriedly informed Oliver and Dig before distracting the police from interfering.

It wasn't till much later that Felicity had a chance to calm down. Oliver and Dig had put the hijackers behind bars but not without sacrificing Oliver's attendance at his own benefit for the Glades. Felicity could tell that he was beating himself up over it.

That's why after Dig had left Oliver's office with a smile, she made her way to his office with a cup of coffee.

Oliver looked up as she came in and gave her a small smile. Felicity placed the cup on the desk in front of him.

"I thought you weren't going to bring me coffee." Oliver wondered, placing his hands around the cup.

"I think you could use one after the day you've had." Plus Felicity wasn't allowed coffee anymore, so one of them should be enjoying it. Felicity placed her hand on Oliver's forearm. "You did good today Oliver. You helped the city without killing. I'm proud of you."

Oliver covered her hand with his own and gave her a sad smile. For a couple moments an intimacy settled over them, neither of them wanting to let it go.

The ringing of Oliver's phone shattered the tension. Felicity withdrew her hand with an awkward smile. Oliver had already answered the phone with a gruff voice. Felicity started walking backwards towards the door, pointing a thumb behind her to inform Oliver that she was leaving, who in turn gave her a small nod.

With that, Felicity practically ran from the office, only slowing down to grab her purse and coat. She didn't stop her rush till she got home and slumped down on her couch. Finally the day had a chance to catch up with her. All of her worries and nerves came crashing down on her at once.

Felicity put her head in her hands and cried.


	3. Broken Dolls

The next two weeks of Felicity's life were the hardest since the first week of MIT where she simultaneously was ecstatic to be living her dream but terrified of failing.

Now Felicity was terrified of the change happening inside her body. She had taken the past two weeks of Arrow work off to allow herself time to think over her life. She had told Oliver and Dig she was getting sleep deprived and needed a couples weeks to catch up on sleep so they wouldn't question her absence.

Felicity spent the two weeks crying, researching and watching sappy movies. She was scared. Sure she was an adult woman with a very good job, but she also worked for a vigilante who went after bad guys. Her living condition wasn't exactly conducive for a happy baby or even a healthy pregnancy.

Felicity argued with herself about what she was going to do with her problem. Would she keep the pregnancy? If she did, would she give the child up for adoption? How was she going to tell Oliver?

However Felicity was no closer to deciding then when she started the self-imposed isolation.

Felicity's phone suddenly went off startling her out of her mind. The caller id let her know it was Dig calling. Oliver had accepted her excuses, but Dig was a little more suspicious. Felicity was forced to tell him that she just really needed time not in spent in the foundry to get over what had happened between her and Oliver. Dig was reassured with that and told her to call when she felt more rested.

She answered surprised that Dig had broken his promise to wait for her to make contact first.

"Hey Dig. What's up?" Felicity hadn't seen or spoken with him for two weeks. At Queen Consolidated, she spent her time at her old desk doing a mixture of her EA job and her old IT job.

"Felicity, I'm sorry to be calling you when you're dealing with your stuff, but it's important." Dig's reassuring voice rang out. Felicity just made an affirmative noise to let him know to continue. "Oliver in the Hood saw Laurel again tonight and the police went after him."

Felicity gasped. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah he's fine. It seems a masked blonde woman saved his ass. Oliver needs you to track her." Dig said apologetic. Felicity sighed.

"I'll be in tomorrow night." Hopefully Felicity was ready to see Oliver again after she had more time to digest the fact that she was pregnant.

After Dig thanked her and then hung up, Felicity grabbed her tablet and starting searching for a masked woman with the little information she had.

She couldn't believe that Oliver was so in love with Laurel that he risked his life. Again. They should send this masked woman a fruit basket or something.

The knowledge that Oliver would always love Laurel hit Felicity, and for a second she couldn't breathe. How could she have a kid with a man who would never chose her?

Felicity spent the rest of the night and the next day gathering info on the woman and preparing herself to see Oliver, which for the most part worked. By the time she entered the Foundry, Felicity had pushed down all thoughts about the baby and Oliver.

"The masked woman is the star of multiple police reports in the last six months. She seems to be attacking—well other attackers." Felicity informed from her desk the duo who were sparing on a mat behind her.

"That just means we need to find her soon." Oliver declared as he walked up behind her. Felicity held her breath from being so close and turned around with a confused look. "I'm not letting the city get over run with vigilantes."

Before Felicity could respond, her phone went off. The caller id showed Detective Lance was calling. She was surprised it was him since he wasn't exactly the most gong-ho about working with the Hood.

"Hi Detective." Felicity said into the phone.

"Ms. Smoak, its officer now. Remember?" Lance's voice rang out.

"Right. Sorry. How's it going?" Felicity asked confused, turning around to look at an equally confused Oliver and Dig. She turned the phone on to speaker.

"I need the Hood's help. Tell him we need to meet." Lance told her. Oliver nodded at Felicity to set up a meeting.

"He'll meet you in half an hour on top of the Mason Building." Felicity said as she took the phone of speaker, and Oliver went to change.

When Oliver came back an hour and a half later, he carried a folder in his hands. He silently walked to where she was sitting at her desk and set it down.

"The Detective want our help on this case. He said the man was called the Dollmaker." Oliver said nodding towards the folder. She picked up the information, but she already knew what it would say.

The Dollmaker was highly publicized while it was happening. So much so that her mother had called her to make sure she was alright and to convince her to move back home. That conversation didn't do anything for her nerves. Knowing the serial killer was back sent a chill down her spine. Felicity got straight into work to find the man.

After 10 minutes, Felicity had gotten something.

"Listen to this. The Dollmaker's real name is Barton Mathis. I searched the FBI's facial recognition to see if I could find but no luck." Felicity excitedly rambled to Oliver and Dig. Oliver gave her his patented why-does-this-matter look. "So I thought he must be laying low right? A place with no cameras. Like the skivvy hotel across from the Newdac building for instance. So I hacked into their servers where I found that one hotel resident used their Wi-Fi to do some not entirely legal checking into Detective Lance and his family. I think this is a solid lead."

Oliver nodded. Still in his green hood, he walked out of the lair as he started to call Detective Lance. Felicity and Dig waited for Oliver and Lance to get to the hotel in silence. Over the comms, they could hear their strained conversation.

"I'm not sure if I believe this whole trying a new way thing, but if it is true, I think it's good for you." Lance's voice said in a huff, a clear indication they were walking up stairs to the room the hotel clerk had said the man who matched Mathis' description was staying.

"I wished your daughter was as trusting as you were." Oliver's hood voice grunted out in a hurt tone.

Felicity rolled her eyes. Was God punishing her for having sex with Oliver? Is that why every time she turned around there was reminder that Oliver would always love Laurel.

Every time Oliver made a Laurel comment, Felicity felt more and more like the baby was a mistake.

She was startled from her downward spiral by Oliver kicking in the hotel door.

"He's not here." Oliver told them. Felicity waited with baited breath as Dig stood behind her.

"Oh but I am." A new voice hummed out.

"He has some kind of computer showing a live video. Find him Felicity." Oliver whispered.

Felicity started hacking, trying to get into the frequency that the computer was on. Vaguely she head the conversation between Mathis and Lance.

"Hurry Felicity." Oliver warned.

"I'm trying but his frequency keeps—" Felicity was cut off by Lance's frantic yelling, and then the frequency she was trying to hack disappeared.

"It's too late. He killed again." Lance brokenly whispered. Felicity dejectedly sighed, pulled her glasses off her face, and put her head in her hands.

She was still in that position as Oliver walked down the stairs of the foundry just 15 minutes later. Just as Oliver finished changing, an alert sound went off on her computer. She looked up at grimaced

"The police found the body." Felicity quietly said as she turned around to face Oliver and Dig. Oliver gave her a small smile.

"It's been a long. We'll all do better with some sleep." Oliver said before giving Dig a pat on the back, grabbing his jacket, and walking back up to the club. Dig waited for Felicity to shut off her computers and to grab her purse and coat.

"Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?" Dig asked as he walked her to her car. Felicity shook her head.

"No I have a physical tomorrow after work. Thanks though." Felicity said with a smile as she got in her car. Dig had a confused look on his face but thankfully let it go. Felicity waved as she drove away and hoped tomorrow would help her figure her life out.

Felicity sat down on a hard plastic chair in her doctor's waiting room and felt under prepared. She had researched for hours to prepare herself, but as Felicity looked around at the expectant mothers, she felt like throwing up. She couldn't do this. She barely remembered to feed her plants. How was she supposed to care for a child?

Before Felicity could ditch, the nurse called her name and lead her back into an exam room.

"Will the father be joining us?" The nurse questioned as she started setting up the ultrasound machine. Felicity winced as she sat up on the exam table.

"No. There's no father." Felicity nervously rambled. "I mean obviously there is a father. This isn't an immaculate conception. The second coming of Christ isn't in my stomach. Especially since I'm Jewish."

The nurse gave her an awkward smile and went back to setting up the machine. Felicity was mentally face-palming, was she an idiot or what?

"If you'll just lay back and lift your shirt, we can start." The nurse instructed her. Felicity did what she asked before the nurse rubbed a cold gel over her lower stomach and starting waving the wand over her stomach.

Felicity knew she had to decide what she was going to do and soon. Then she'd have to tell Oliver. Felicity could barely handle her pregnancy and she was the only one who knew about it. How was she going to tell other people?

 **Ba-ba-ba.**

Startled from her thoughts by the noise, Felicity looked up at the nurse.

"Is that. . . ." Felicity trailed off.

"The heartbeat? Yep. You're about 12 weeks along, do too early to tell the sex." The nurse told her with a happy smile.

Logically, Felicity had known the heartbeat had been going for a while. She even knew she was going to hear today, but knowing and actually hearing were two completely different things. Dimly Felicity realized the nurse had left to go get the Doctor to go over her results of the ultrasound of—of her baby.

In that second after hearing her baby's heartbeat, Felicity knew that there was no way she couldn't be a mother to this baby. Already she felt a deep glowing love in her heart for the child being formed inside her. This new love carried her through the rest of her appointment, into her car, and on her way to meet Dig and Oliver at the foundry.

Oliver! How was Felicity supposed to tell Oliver she was pregnant? Their friendship just got back to normal.

She would have to wait till the Dollmaker case was over to tell him, Felicity decided as she entered the foundry.

With Dig and Oliver out of sight, Felicity euphorically skipped to her computer station and started hacking into the crime lab to get information about the latest victim. Her joyous state was quickly turning sour as her hacking came up short. Felicity made a frustrated growl.

"How's the info from the latest victim's autopsy?" Oliver asked as he and Dig walked down the foundry stairs.

"It's not." Felicity growled. "They took their systems offline. It seems someone's been hacking into them lately."

She turned to look at him as he went to his suit.

"Then we do it like the Merlyn job. I'll call Lance from the road." Oliver said before grabbing his suit and changing. Dig shook his head and gave her a smile before retreating to his guns. A half hour after Oliver had left, the comms crackled to life.

"You're up Felicity." Oliver's hood voice said. Her computer connected to the crime lab's computer, and she was off.

"Ok. I'll start with toxicology." She said strolling through the chemical formulas. Felicity's stomach growled. Hmm, maybe she should have Dig go get Big Belly Burger.

"Wait! That formula. It was on the last victim. Some kind of skin cream." Detective Lance called out. Felicity started looking for the cream before Oliver could say anything. She pulled up an advertising flyer of the cream.

"How the hell could she do that?" Lance asked in awe. Felicity smiled to herself. At least one person was impressed by her skills. In seconds, Felicity started gathering intel.

"It's called Mermaidin. For delicate skin, it's made of crushed pearls which makes it very expensive. Only 5 stores in the city carry it." Felicity informed them. "And before you ask, only 4 have cameras in their store, and when I ran facial recognition for Mathis, I came up empty."

By this time, Dig had walked up next to her, and Lance and Oliver had made it to a rooftop adjacent to the crime lab.

"It's possible that he's stalking the girls from the outside." Dig suggested.

"Then we give him one." Oliver declared.

Was he actually suggesting her? Felicity couldn't believe her luck. Oliver was finally acknowledging her ability to help in the field, and she's going to have to ruin it. Obviously she couldn't be bait while she was pregnant.

"If you're suggesting Ms. Smoak, forget it." Detective Lance beat her to the punch. "I am barely ok with baiting a serial killer, but using a defenseless woman is out of the question."

"What do you suggest then?" Oliver asked.

"A female detective owes me one for saving her life. I'll collect my favor and meet you in an hour at the address I'm sure Ms. Smoak will send me." With that Lance's comms disconnected.

"I'll be back in ten minutes." Oliver huffed out before disconnecting also.

Dig gave her a concerned look, which Felicity just returned with a smile. He walked away just in time to miss her stomach give another growl. Dang. Food would have to wait. Just another thing that was being forced to wait till after the mission was finished.

While the team prepared to bait a serial killer, Felicity couldn't help but wonder how Oliver was going to react to the news. His own family was in shambles. Moria was in jail for the Undertaking, and Thea spent her days in the club or with Roy. Oliver certainly had a lot on his plate, hopefully he had room for one more thing.

Felicity was guiding the mission through the comms as Katie, the detective that owed Lance a favor, went to all the shops and bought the cream. By the last store, everyone was on edge.

"Watch it, man in fedora to the left of her. Never did like men who wear fedoras." Felicity nervously rambled watching the street cameras. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when the man walked into a restaurant.

Felicity gasped as she heard Katie scream and Dig, Oliver, and Lance start yelling. She felt so helpless, waiting for someone to talk to her. Dig finally called out to her.

"Felicity. Katie's fine but she hit her head. Call the police. Lance and Oliver are in pursuit."

"He got away." Oliver huffed out before once again disconnecting. With nothing else to do, Felicity called the police.

The next day, Felicity's work day was too busy to look into Mathis anymore, and Oliver was gone all day in meetings. She didn't get a chance to take a breath until she had gotten to the foundry.

Tonight they were planning on using their intel about Mathis to take him down. So Felicity went straight to work on finding Mathis' location while also trying to decide how she was going to tell Oliver about the baby.

She had decided to keep the baby, and Felicity was hoping that Oliver would be next to her helping.

"Mathis got away last night, so tonight we need to make sure it doesn't happen again." Oliver suddenly said behind her, startling her. Felicity turned around to see Dig smiling at her, and Oliver giving her an amused look.

"Yeah, that's what I'm doing. I'm looking—"Felicity started before a bing on her computer interrupted her. She looked at the notification confused. "It's Lance's panic button. Something's wrong."

Oliver swore and hurriedly put on his suit.

"Talk us in, Felicity." Oliver yelled over his shoulder as he and Dig ran up the stairs with comms in their ears.

"Ok, The GPS on his phone says he's in the warehouse district." Felicity informed them over the comms. She heard the van picking up speed. "The warehouse on the corner of 8th and Adams. That's where he should be."

After a couple tense minutes, Felicity listened as Oliver and Dig entered the warehouse. Before too long, Felicity could hear murmurs of a conversation, and then Oliver gasped.

"What is it? What's happening?" Felicity whispered.

"The Dollmaker has Laurel too." Dig answered her. Felicity internally sighed. Of course, it was Laurel. It was always Laurel.

Over the comms, Felicity heard Oliver let loose an arrow, and then all hell broke loose. For several minutes, all she could hear was the sounds of fighting. Suddenly it was quiet, and Felicity had to bite her tongue to keep from talking. A couple of moments later Oliver's voice came over the comms.

"The woman in black killed Barton. Dig?"

"The police have been notified, and both Lances are fine." Dig said. Both Oliver and Felicity let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. I'll meet you back at the van. Felicity, we'll be back in 5." Oliver said before disconnecting, and Dig followed suit.

Felicity took out her own comm and put her head in her hands. She promised herself she was going to tell Oliver after the Dollmaker case was over, but now that it was, Felicity didn't know if she could do it. Oliver was obviously still in love with Laurel.

She shook her head. No she was going to tell him. It doesn't matter if Oliver was in fact in love with Laurel. He deserved to know the truth.

Just as Felicity finished steeling herself, Oliver and Dig walked in. Oliver had on angry face. She stood up to meet them in the middle of the foundry.

"We need to find this masked woman right now." Oliver said through a clenched jaw. "I want her gone. She's disrupting our work."

Oliver shook his head like he was trying to clear his mind from a fog before continuing.

"But that's tomorrow's problem. Go home, the both of you. It's been a long couple of days."

Dig smiled at the both of them before making his exit. Felicity watched as the door closed behind him before looking back at Oliver who had a confused look on his face, probably wondering what she was waiting for.

"I was wondering if we could talk." Felicity questioned. It was time. She was finally going to tell him. The secret would no longer be just hers.

"Actually, Can it wait?" Oliver asked in an apologetic tone. "I just wanted to check up on Laurel before I get cleaned up."

Felicity blinked. Of course, Laurel.

"Uh yeah, Sure. I'll just see you tomorrow." Felicity mumbled out before hurriedly grabbing her stuff and leaving the foundry and Oliver behind. Felicity felt like a fool for even thinking that Oliver would ever chose her over Laurel.

Eventually Felicity would have to tell Oliver, but she knew now that it was going to have to wait till she could handle the fact that Oliver and she were never going to happen. And since Felicity spent the entire night crying into a tub of ice cream, she figured she wouldn't be ready to tell Oliver for a long time.


	4. Crucible

Felicity wasn't sure she belonged at this party. Strike that. Felicity was positive that she didn't belong at this party. The Queen Manor had been done up very nicely for the party meant to attract more investors.

And Isabel Rochev was glaring at her.

"Where is he?" She demanded. Felicity gulped. She really deserved hazard pay.

"Mr. Queen is just running a little late. I'll go and call him to make sure he's on his way." Felicity rushed out before turning on her heels and finding a corner to hide in. She took a couple calming breaths before turning on her comms to suddenly hear gunshots.

Felicity waited till Oliver had finished telling Dig about the guns before speaking.

"Are you on your way to the investor party now? Because if you aren't, I think Isabel might actually kill me." Felicity pleaded. Oliver made a sound that vaguely sounded like a chuckle. Which was rude.

"Yeah, I'm almost to the foundry now. I'll be there in 15 minutes." Oliver told her.

"Make it 10." Felicity mumbled back before turning around to see Isabel still glaring at her. She quickly made her way over to her. "He'll be here in 15."

Isabel just narrowed her eyes and continued to glare at Felicity until 11 minutes later (who's counting?) when Oliver came into the door. Then Isabel glared at him.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Mr. Queen." Isabel said through a clenched jaw before turning on her heels and swiftly entering the ballroom.

Oliver followed Isabel into the party with no words towards her. Before he could walk more than a few feet, Sebastian Blood with Laurel by his side stopped Oliver to talk.

"Mr. Queen. It's nice to know that you are late to everything, not just my functions." Blood sarcastically said to Oliver, completely ignoring her standing only a few feet behind him.

"I don't think you need me at your functions, Mr. Blood. You don't seem to need any help cleaning up the streets."

"Actually he does." Laurel butted in. felicity watched as the bombshell beauty captured the attention of both Oliver and Blood. "The mayor is ruining the city."

Felicity was surprised Laurel would be so blunt about insulting a city official. Oliver's face suggested he was surprised as well.

"Well…since Mr. Blood here is the number on candidate for the next term. I don't think he'll have a problem fixing it." Oliver said confused. His eyes flicking back and forth between Laurel and Blood. Blood shook his head.

"Not the real mayor. He's a guns dealer in the Glades that goes by the Mayor. Thanks to your mother, people think they can do whatever they want in the Glades." Before Oliver could respond, Sebastian turned and left. Laurel shot Oliver an apologetic smile before walking into the hall.

Felicity walked forward to talk to Oliver, but he disappeared down the hall the Laurel had just went down.

It seemed like Felicity couldn't catch a break. Everywhere she turned, there Laurel was. It was just like the masked woman and Oliver, being at the same places with—with Laurel.

At Felicity's realization, she darted forward into the hallway where Oliver and Laurel were talking.

"Oliver?" Felicity called out, getting Laurel and Oliver's attention. "I have to talk to you."

Oliver nodded and said his goodbyes to Laurel, who just smiled and gave her a confused look.

"What is it?" Oliver asked. He had a small smile on his face, and he had placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I was thinking about the masked woman, and how she seems to be stalking you." Felicity informed him. "What if she wasn't following you? Both times you saw her, there was another person there."

"Laurel." Oliver breathed out. Before Felicity could say anything else, Oliver grabbed her forearm and started to drag her to the door. Seems like the party was over.

Later, after Oliver had broken many speed laws, Felicity and Dig silently sat and listened on the comms as Oliver drove to Laurel's apartment and got to a rooftop.

"I see her." Oliver whispered. The whoosh of an arrow being let go sounded through the comms.

"Who are you?" Oliver's hood voice gruffed out. The comms crackled.

"I shouldn't be surprised you're following her. You two always did have a way of circling around each other." A voice that Felicity assumed was the masked woman's rang out. Boy even masked killers could tell Oliver and Laurel were connected.

"One last time. Who are you?" This time Oliver yelled. Felicity could mentally see him furrowing his eyebrows.

"Don't you remember me Ollie?" The woman asked sweetly. Felicity gasped. How did this woman know Oliver was the Hood.

For a couple of seconds everything was quiet. Felicity and Dig waited with baited breath as a shuffling sound came through the comms. This time Oliver gasped.

"Sara?" Oliver sounded confused. The masked woman who was stalking Laurel Lance was _Sara Lance?_

Before the notion of Sara Lance being alive could sink in, there was an explosion.

"Oliver!" Felicity yelled through the comms. Dig was standing beside her listening just as intently as she was. After a couple of tense seconds, Oliver answered.

"I'm here. But she's not." Oliver turned off his comms, suggesting the conversation was over.

That is until he returned 15 minutes later, making no eye contact with either of them before slumping down in Felicity's chair which had vacated to pace. Oliver placed his head in his hands. It was obvious to Felicity that Oliver wasn't going to offer up any information willingly.

"Just to clarify," Felicity started. Dig shot her a wary look. "When you said Sara, you meant the woman in black was Sara Lance. Also known as the girl who was on the Gambit with you?"

Oliver just nodded.

"I thought she was dead?" Dig asked confused. Oliver finally looked up and glared at Dig.

"So did I." Oliver stated through a clenched jaw, angry about being questioned. He shook his head and looked back down at his hands. "I saw Sara die on the Gambit then about a year later I saw her again. But I swear to you that I thought she was dead."

"What are you going to do?" Felicity asked quietly. She couldn't believe that Sara was alive. Felicity could still remember watching the news coverage of the Gambit sinking, and a week later when it was confirmed that Sara Lance was also on the boat, she could remember thinking Sara and her could've been friends.

"I'm just going to deal with it. I need to think about something else." Oliver said standing up from her chair. "What do we have on the Mayor?"

"Not much yet." Dig told him. "But I'm meeting with my military contact tomorrow afternoon to get some info."

"Then we'll pick up tomorrow night." Oliver said. Dig nodded, gave Felicity a smile, and went up the stairs. Oliver sighed and sat down on one of the other chairs.

"You ok?" Felicity asked startling him. Oliver looked up at her. "Whatever happened on the island, with Sara, you seemed really shook up to see her alive."

During her speech, Felicity had walked over to where Oliver was sitting and laid a hand on his shoulder. He looked into her eyes with a sad smile.

"The island took everything from me. Hope, love, my humanity. When I found Sara, I thought I finally got something back." Oliver's voice broke at the end of his sentence. His eyes filled with tears. "And when she died, it felt my last chance at being ok died too."

Felicity was surprised Oliver had told her so much, but not as surprised as she was when his hands grabbed her waist, and he buried his face in her stomach. For a few seconds, she was too surprised to do anything, but when Oliver's shoulders started shaking with sobs, Felicity put her arms around him. She softly laid her head on top of his and made soothing sounds.

Several minutes passed by spent in the comforts of each other's arms. And for a second, Felicity let herself dream.

Oliver leaning down to give her stomach a kiss while they laid in bed. He would tell their unborn child how the two of them fell in love, and Felicity would fall asleep to Oliver's voice knowing she would be safe.

Oliver was still for a couple minutes, startling her from her daydreams. Then he looked up with dry eyes and made eye contact with her.

Suddenly the air around them got thicker. The hands on her waist had gripped her tighter, and Oliver breathed heavily as his hands started to crawl up her sides. He followed his hands and stood up to face her. His hands stopped their ascent at her face.

The eye contact between the two of them continued, and it felt like time had slowed down. Before Felicity could think about why they shouldn't be doing what they were about to do, Oliver settled his lips on hers.

The kiss was slow and gentle. So much different than the passion that fueled their last encounter. Their lips were having a conversation that the two of them could never say with words. Felicity could feel Oliver's hands moving to hold onto the back of her head and her back. In turn Felicity's hands went to Oliver's leather-clad shoulders. She wanted to stay in this position forever.

At least until the foundry door beeped open. By the time Dig had walked down the stairs, Oliver and Felicity had quickly separated and went back to their own chairs.

"Just forgot my phone." Dig informed them with an awkward smile before grabbing his phone. He turned to look directly at Felicity. "How about I walk you to your car?"

Felicity nodded and swiftly grabbed her purse and coat. As Dig walked her to her car, she hoped that Dig would leave it alone. A hope to far fetch.

"So what was that?" Dig asked smug. They had just gotten to her after weaving through the club-goers.

"I was just comforting him." Felicity mumbled out. Dig raised his eyebrow.

"Really? Because that's not how I comfort friends." Felicity just gave him a sad look, and Dig sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Felicity shook her head and got in her car. Before shutting her door, she looked back up at him.

"It's too late for that Dig. You can't prevent something that's already happened."

Felicity needed to pee.

Her bladder had always been the size of a walnut, but with an extra human being in her, it seemed to shrink even more.

Felicity had needed to pee for a while now, but Oliver was due back any moment, and she didn't feel like risking it.

Dig's contact had told them about a missing shipment of military guns which fortunately were made at Queen Consolidated. That meant Felicity was able to turn the GPS on the guns back on long enough to get a location.

Unfortunately by the time Oliver had gotten there, the Mayor and his goons were long gone.

Now it was Saturday morning, and Felicity was looking into the Mayor anyway she could look of. Oliver was planning on stopping in to see her progress before he went to the cash for guns rally.

Felicity and Oliver had wisely avoided being alone with each other after Thursday night's _thing._

Screw it. Felicity's bladder was about to explode. She would just have to be stealthy.

That plan went out the window, Felicity realized as she walked towards the bathroom. She stopped when she noticed Oliver and Sara speaking. Felicity stood there and watched as a knock on the door made Oliver pause the conversation.

She decided to wait for the bathroom, but when she stepped back, the floorboards made a noise which made Sara whip around to face her.

"It's ok. I work with Oliver in his vigilante business." Felicity said, putting her hands up. "I mean it's not a business. He doesn't make any money, neither do I. I mean I have a reliable income. Just not from being his IT girl."

Sara blinked at her, looking confused. Felicity put out her hand to shake.

"I'm Felicity by the way." Sara took one look at her outstretched hand, turned around, and ran off. Felicity was left utterly confused, before she too was forced to run to hide in the bathroom as Oliver's conversation outside seemed to be dying down.

She went about her business but made sure to take her time in the hope that Oliver would be gone by the time she made it back. Felicity's plan worked, because Oliver was nowhere to be seen when she got back. Dig just shook his head.

For an hour, Felicity tried to get something on the Mayor, but it just left her frustrated. And hungry.

"Ok, I'm starving." Felicity declared as she turned around to face Dig who was cleaning his guns. "I'm going to Big Belly. Want your usual?"

Dig nodded his answer. Felicity smiled. Big Belly could always fix a bad mood. At least that was what she thought until after she had ordered and was sitting waiting only for one Laurel Lance to sit down beside her. Because of course. The way her week was going this shouldn't really be a surprise.

"Felicity right?" Laurel asked her. While Laurel didn't really looked surprised to see her, she did have a Big Belly shake in her hand, so Felicity's paranoia that Laurel tracked her down subsided.

"Yeah." Felicity nodded. Laurel smiled at her, but in a way a wolf would smile at its prey. Like she knew exactly where to bite to make it hurt.

"You and Oliver," Laurel said, eyeing her. "It will never happen. You know that right?"

And she definitely knew how to make it hurt. Felicity had been too surprised at first to notice but now the distinct smell of vodka clouded Laurel's breath. Felicity was surprised, and then she felt sad for the woman.

"Laurel. Me and Oliver's relationship is none of your business." Felicity said with a sad smile. "I know how it feels to lose someone close to you, and wanting everyone to stop looking at you like you're going to break at any second."

Laurel blinked.

"What you're doing to yourself isn't going to make it go away. All you're doing is giving it more power over you. One day you won't be able to run anymore, and I promise you that facing it now, voluntary, will hurt a lot less then later, forcibly." Felicity heard her order number called and rushed to write her phone number on Laurel's shake cup. "This is my number, and if you want to talk to an unbiased person, you can call me."

Felicity then went to the counter, grabbed her food, and walked out of the store without a glance backwards.

Two Lance sisters in one day. Felicity was proud of herself.

Thankfully by the time Felicity had gotten back to the foundry, she had composed herself.

Unfortunately about the time that her and Dig had sat down to eat a ping on her computer alerted her to the Mayor's debut at the cash for guns event which Oliver was attending.

By the time, Oliver made it back to the foundry, Felicity had already ran facial recognition and gotten a match.

"His name is Xavier Reed." Felicity told Oliver and Dig who were standing behind her. "And before you ask, he doesn't have any military background."

"What about his family?" Oliver asked.

"He was in and out of foster homes his whole life. But one of his foster brothers is in the military. And he's stationed at Camp Kurry where the missing guns came from. There's a new shipment coming in tonight."

Felicity turned around to look at Oliver, who was ignoring her. Awesome. They were back to this.

"Write down the time and the address of the drop off. We have to make sure he doesn't get his hands on this guns." Oliver said before turning and leaving to probably go brood in a corner somewhere.

Felicity wished they could just talk. Once upon a time the three of them talked about everything. They were her best friends. Now Felicity had no one to talk to about her massive secret in her stomach. Dig wouldn't understand, and besides the obvious reasons, Oliver and her relationship had drastically changed since the night of the Undertaking. They're conversations were strained and a tension filled the air between them. It was times like these that Felicity wished she had female friends.

She was so desperate, Felicity had started talking to her unborn child. Although that didn't work out too well, because she needed advice and plus telling a child, even an unborn one, about how their father was an idiot seemed like bad form.

The three of them worked in silence till the time came for the mission.

After the Mayor had been subdued, Felicity wasn't sure what to do. Should she stay and risk being alone with Oliver or go home and avoid him altogether. The decision was ultimately made for her.

"The police are on their way. I'm heading straight to the hospital to see Thea. We'll see you on Monday Felicity." Oliver's voice said through the comms.

It seems she was not only dismissed for the night but for the next day also.

 _That's fine,_ Felicity thought as she grabbed her stuff and walked to her car, _I'll enjoy an actual day off. No one to talk to but myself._

It wasn't till she entered her apartment and slumped onto the couch did Felicity allow herself to admit how alone she felt. No one knew her secret, and she couldn't talk to anyone about the terrible pain she was in because of her relationship with Oliver.

Felicity knew what she had to do. She had to tell someone about her baby, and there was only one person she wanted to tell even if she was dreading it. So Felicity picked up the phone and dialed. After a few seconds, the other side picked up.

"Hi." Felicity said through her tears. "There's something I have to tell you."


	5. League of Assassins

"Oh honey. What's going on?" Even through the phone, her mother's voice comforted her.

"I-I'm pregnant." Felicity broke off in a sob. Over the phone, Donna made soothing sounds. Felicity felt like she was back in her childhood. Crying in her mother's arms as her father left.

"Felicity sweetheart. What happened?" Her mother whispered from the other end. Felicity tried to rain in her tears to speak.

"I had a one night stand with a friend. Oh god, I haven't even told him yet." Felicity shook her head and put her hand on her stomach. "I just don't know how my life got this way."

"I will be on the next flight out. I can help you figure out everything." Her mother determinedly said. Felicity could practically hear her mentally pack.

"No mom. I'm going to be fine, and plus you need to save your time off." Felicity told Donna with a smile on her face. "Because I'll need you here for when the baby comes."

Her mother was quiet for a few minutes. Felicity waited with baited breath.

"I'm going to be a grandma?" Donna asked choked up. Felicity let out a laugh.

"Yeah Mom. You are." Felicity said through her tears which had now turned into happy tears. Her mother laughed.

Telling someone about the baby lifted a weight from her shoulders. So much so that the next day when Dig called to interrupt her off day, she wasn't even mad.

She could tell that Dig noticed her happier mood. He smiled happily at her when they meet outside of Verdant to walk in together.

"What's got you so happy?" He asked amused. Felicity smiled at him as she entered the code for the foundry door.

"For once everything seems to be going good…" Felicity trailed off as she and Dig saw Oliver and one Sara Lance standing in the foundry.

"Sara, this is John Diggle and—" Oliver started.

"Felicity Smoak." Sara interrupted him. She had a fond smile on her face. "We've met."

Oliver looked confused but ignored Sara's statement none-the-less.

"Felicity, I need you to analyze this." Oliver said giving her a small bag of dirt. "Sara and I were attacked at my house earlier today. Thankfully, he tracked this in. I want to know how to find him and what he wants."

Felicity was already sitting at her computer chair, and Oliver and Dig were at her back.

"I already know what he want." Sara said from behind them. The three turned around to look at her. "He's here for me."

"What does he want with you?" Dig asked confused. Sara looked up at them.

"He wants to bring me back to the League of Assassins."

Oliver and Dig both made faces at Sara, so Felicity knew that that couldn't mean anything good.

"What is that?" Felicity looked from Dig to the back of Oliver's head.

"It's exactly what it sounds like." Dig whispered as Oliver grabbed Sara's arm and dragged her a few feet away Felicity assumed to talk privately.

The air held a slight tension as Dig and she waited. Several seconds later, Oliver's phone that was laying on her desk beeped. Felicity turned around and looked at the new text message.

"It's Thea. She's asking where you are." Felicity loudly spoke over her shoulder so Oliver could hear her.

At once Oliver swiveled around and walked towards her to grab his phone. Oliver then walked up the foundry stairs without a words directly at anyone. Felicity shook her head as she turned back around and got to work on the dirt sample.

"Thank you Felicity." Sara said several minutes later startling her. Felicity turned and looked at her in surprise. "You've treated me normal and not like the killer I am."

"We all make mistakes. Plus I spend an obscene amount of time with Oliver and Dig who fight bad guys." She smiled up at her. Sara put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oliver is lucky to have you." Sara whispered to her with a knowing look on her face, like they both were in on a secret. "Even if he doesn't always show his appreciation."

Felicity blinked.

And just like that Sara's mental mask went back up, and she walked away from Felicity.

Felicity wasn't sure what to take from that conversation. She couldn't tell what Sara meant, but overall it felt nice to have someone who knew Oliver so well to talk to. Maybe the two of them could be friends. With that thought in her mind, Felicity spent the next two hours looking for the assassin and finally succeeding just as Oliver walked down the stairs.

"What have you found?" Oliver asked as he walked towards her.

"The dirt you found had high traces of pesticide. And Starling City's pesticide plant was shut down three years ago. It's empty now. Prefect for a club of killers." Felicity rattled off. She turned to see Oliver and Sara both nod before they went to suit up.

Felicity did some upgrades and security tests on her computer while she and Dig waited for the duo to come back.

Ever since her conversation with her mother last night, Felicity was feeling better about her situation. Now that she was getting more comfortable with the baby, she knew that the time for telling Oliver was quickly approaching. She at least needed to tell Dig.

Her relationship with Oliver would have to be figured out before the baby came, because Felicity refused to have her child be born into the environment that they were in now. The whole can't-stop-touching-you-but-I-can't-be-with-you thing was getting old. It had to be either all or nothing.

Oliver and Sara coming back woke her from her own mind. Oliver had a hand keeping pressure on Sara's back where Felicity could see blood seeping through. Sara started undressing as Felicity went to her to see if she could help.

"He had back-up, but we know what his next step is now." Oliver said as he grabbed a med kit and prepared to stitch up Sara's back.

To her credit, Sara didn't flinch once, although Felicity sure did. Felicity would cringe every time the needle went through. Then Sara would give her a comforting smile which was crazy because she wasn't the one being stitched up.

Dig and Felicity waited for Oliver to finish before asking anymore questions.

"So what's his next step?" Dig asked Oliver. Sara finished putting on her shirt and butted in.

"My family." She sighed. "He's planning on using them to get me to come back."

"So we are going to look after them. I'll take Laurel." Oliver informed them.

"I can take Detective Lance. He trusts me." Felicity directed the last sentence to Sara. Oliver nodded his agreement with her plan.

Felicity hadn't thought about what she was going to say to Lance to get him to leave town, so when she saw him standing in front of his apartment, she panicked.

"Detective!" She said when she was only a few feet away. Lance turned around, surprised to see her.

"Ms. Smoak. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked while giving her a long, knowing look. Even though Felicity knew she wasn't showing, she couldn't help but cover her stomach with her hand to protect her secret from Lance.

"You're in danger. You need to leave Starling City immediately." Felicity rushed out. Before Lance could interrupt her, she continued on. "And no I can't give you any more information but—will you excuse me a second?"

The smell of Detective Lance's takeout hit her senses suddenly and made her stomach turn. Before Lance could say anything, Felicity had bent over and thrown up in the bushes. Luckily once was enough for her stomach, and the nausea soon stopped.

Detective Lance had been nice enough to hold her hair out of her face. He handed her a tissue, and waited for her to finish.

"Reminds me of holding Dinah's hair back when was pregnant." Lance said giving her a look. He raised an eyebrow. Felicity sighed and slumped down on the steps of his building.

"How did you know?" Felicity dejectedly asked looking up at him. He sat down beside her and patted her knee.

"I was once a detective you know, and a father too. I can tell." He said as he put an arm around her shoulder.

"He doesn't even know." Felicity whispered.

"Who?"

"The father." Felicity made eye contact with Detective Lance. "I don't know how to tell him."

She had begun to cry, and Lance started to make soothing sounds that reminded Felicity of her mother.

"You'll figure it out. You always do." He whispered.

Felicity took a few calming breaths and stood up.

"There's probably nothing I can say to make you leave right?" Felicity said, already knowing the answer. Lance chuckled.

"I'm afraid not." Lance shook his head and pulled her in for a hug. Felicity imagined it was what a hug from a father would feel like. After a few seconds, Felicity pulled away.

"Good night Detective Lance." She said with a small smile on her face. Before she could walk away, Lance put a hand on her shoulder.

"If you need anything and I mean anything, just call." Lance gave her a stern look.

"Thank you." Felicity whispered back before walking back to her car all the while aware of Lance watching her.

Two people now knew her secret. Just not the person that needed to know the most.

The rest of her night went just as well as the first part. Earlier when she had entered the foundry, Sara and Dig had been waiting to hear her verdict. When she informed them that Lance wasn't exactly going to listen, Sara ran for the door only briefly stopping to talk Dig out of coming with her and to give Felicity a quick hug that Felicity assumed was for trying to help.

If that Lance sister encounter wasn't weird enough, about twenty minutes after Sara left, Felicity received a phone call from the other Lance sister. All Laurel had said was that she needed someone to talk to, and could she meet her somewhere?

That's why Felicity was currently sitting at a late night coffee shop with a decaf tea waiting for Laurel to come back with her order.

The whole meeting had come as a shock to Felicity. She gave her number to Laurel with the notion that it would never be used. Now she was wondering if it was all an elaborate prank. Felicity's face must have shown her suspicions.

"Relax. I didn't ask you here to embarrass you." Laurel said as she sat down with her drink.

"There was a moment today when all I wanted to do was down some pills." Laurel said quietly looking down at her drink. She sighed. "And then I thought about what you said, about running away, so I called you instead."

Laurel looked up at her with a small smile. Felicity was dumbfounded that Laurel was telling her all this.

"I'm really happy you stopped it Laurel," Felicity said warily. "But I'm not sure how much actual help I can be."

Laurel put her hand on Felicity's and gave her a grateful look.

"That's ok. I decided to go to a therapist to help with the whole Tommy thing." Laurel winced slightly at his name but kept going. "I was actually hoping we could be friends."

If someone had told Felicity last week, hell this morning, that Laurel Lance would say that sentence to her and be completely serious, she would have asked if that person was on drugs.

Now Felicity, while surprised, was happy.

"I think being friends is an amazing idea. Felicity said with a grin. Laurel breathed a sigh of relief.

Their conversation was light and fun. Felicity was able to see the mixture of the Laurel that everyone saw, tough and in charge, and another Laurel, that snorted when she laughed. Time flew by, and suddenly the two of them were forced to leave due to the shop closing.

"Thank you Felicity. And I'm sorry about what I said about you and Oliver." Laurel said before pulling her in for a hug.

"Don't worry about it. Already forgiven." Felicity answered, and she meant it. The two of them finished their goodbyes, and Felicity started on her way to her car.

Since starting working with Team Arrow, Dig and Oliver had insisted on training her. The first lesson was situational awareness. So when the hairs on Felicity's neck stood up, she knew she was being followed.

As Felicity got to her car, she turned around but didn't see anything in the darkness. So she waited.

She was not disappointed. Sara walked out of some shadows and gave her a smile. Felicity breathed a sigh of relief.

"I didn't know stalking was a habit of yours." Felicity jokingly said.

"I'm surprised you're friends with my sister." Sara commented with an arched eyebrow.

"Me too." Felicity mumbled under her breath. She raised her voice so Sara could hear her. "Dig texted me about what happened. Did you need something?"

"I wanted to say goodbye before I left." Sara said sadly while walking closer to her. Before Felicity could respond, Sara engulfed her in a short hug. "Thanks for your help."

And with that Sara was gone so Felicity got into her car and began the trek home.

She had been hugged by every member of the Lance family.

Huh. What a day.


	6. Keep your enemies closer

"You're starting to show a little more darling." Lance said while he sat across from her at lunch. "How far along are you?"

Felicity frowned down at her stomach. It was true that her stomach was in fact a little pudgier, but it was well managed with a little bigger dresses. The waitress put the check down.

"Only 15 weeks." Felicity told him as she took out her purse to grab her wallet. "The internet says my weight gain is normal."

Detective Lance grabbed the bill before she could. Felicity rolled her eyes while Lance paid.

"Still. It's more noticeable now." Lance told her, putting on his coat and helping her with hers. "Eventually you are going to have to tell Queen or he's going to find out somehow."

Felicity and Detective Lance were outside the restaurant walking towards her parked car. She sighed.

"I know. I've been trying to." Felicity informed him as they stopped at her car. "It seems like every time I try, something comes up."

"Just make sure you're the one to tell him." Lance told her before pulling her in for a hug. Felicity smiled into his shoulder. Detective Lance seemed to know exactly what she needed.

The two of them said their goodbyes, and Felicity drove to the foundry to get a quick look at her computer programs she was running but didn't even make into Verdant. The red arrow the Arrow had given Roy was in a post, signaling he had some information to share.

Felicity turned around and got back into her car to drive to Queen Consolidated to talk to Oliver. Before she could enter into Oliver's office, she hesitated. Isabel was standing in front of Oliver's desk yelling at him.

"Mr. Queen?" She said quietly to get his attention. Oliver signaled her to wait while Isabel kept yelling. "Mr. Queen."

This time Oliver gave her an exasperated look at her loud voice. Isabel didn't even pause in her yelling.

"Oliver!" This time Isabel stopped and turned towards her. Oliver looked surprised. "You have plans….with Mr. Harper."

Felicity the swiftly left the office to wait for Oliver by the elevators.

Oliver soon joined her, and they quietly waited for the elevator. The tension between them was so thick, Felicity felt like she was drowning.

"Your excuses are almost as bad as mine were." Oliver quietly said after they had gotten into the elevator. He kept a small smile on his face. Felicity blinked, surprised. She knew what he was doing.

Oliver was offering an olive branch, hoping to ease the tension that had plagued them since the two of them kissed. No matter how much Felicity wanted everything to go back to how it was, their passionate kiss and the baby in her womb were proof that it wasn't possible. So instead of replying, Felicity gave a huff of an annoyance.

They separated at the lobby to their own cars. Due to the fact that Felicity had to stop for a bathroom break and Oliver's speeding problem, by the time she had entered the foundry Dig had informed Oliver of Roy's arrow, and he had suited up.

Felicity passed Oliver without so much as a glance and sat down at her computer. A few minutes later she heard the foundry door open and shut, she let out a breath.

Oliver was only gone for a couple hours, but it felt like a lifetime. Since Dig had left a couple minutes after Oliver, she was left alone. With no updates to perform, Felicity spent her time researching and looking at baby names.

She heard the foundry door open, and by the time Oliver walked down to meet her, her desktop was clear.

"Where's Dig?" He asked confused, putting his bow away. Felicity turned to face him with a small smile.

"He said he had an errand to do." Felicity told him before he went to change. "How'd it go with Roy?"

"Not well." Oliver mumbled without looking at her. He then left to change. Obviously the conversation was over.

Felicity knew she didn't have a right to be annoyed. After all she had stopped the conversation earlier today. Neither of them really wanted to discuss what was going on between them.

For the next hour, Oliver worked out, and Felicity found some software updates to monkey around with.

When Dig entered, she could practically feel the tension lessen. However Dig ignored both of them to grab a duffle bag and begin to fill it with guns.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked his friend. Dig shook his head.

"I just have to take care of something. I'll be back in a couple of days." Dig looked up at Oliver who was standing a few feet away from her. Oliver had a look on his face that suggested he wasn't going to let it go. Dig sighed.

"I asked a friend to do me a favor and help me find the man that killed my brother. Now Lyla is missing in Russia."

A few tense seconds passed.

"Lyla?" Oliver asked, looking at Dig. Felicity rolled her eyes. This man was blind as a bat.

"It's his A.R.G.U.S. ex-girlfriend." Felicity said with an exasperated tone. Dig gave her a smile for remembering. Oliver just sighed.

"Well then Felicity, tell the QC jet to get prepared for a flight to Moscow." Felicity nodded at his request and went to grab her phone.

"Oliver, I can't ask you to do this." Dig denied.

"You're not. I'm offering." Oliver told him with a smile. "It's what friends do."

Felicity smiled to herself, maybe Oliver was growing as a person.

While packing for their unexpected weekend trip to Russia, Felicity realized how badly she needed to go clothes shopping. Her clothes were fine for now, but according to her research, her belly was going to soon become too big to not notice. That meant two things; she had to get bigger clothes, and she had to tell Oliver.

Dig and Oliver were waiting in a car outside her apartment building, so there wasn't a lot of time to dilly-dally.

When she finally got back to the car, Dig was waiting to help get her bags in the trunk. The ride to the airport was quick and silent. Everything was going as planned until Isabel pulled up alongside them. Because of course she did, that's just how Felicity's life was at the moment.

Not having enough energy to deal with the woman, Felicity turned on her heels to enter the plane and leave Oliver to sort out everything.

Which obviously a bad idea, because less than 5 minutes later Oliver and Dig joined her with a bored Isabel following behind them.

Felicity played on her tablet for the beginning of the flight but promptly fell asleep halfway through their journey. She didn't wake until she felt someone push some hair off of her face. Felicity could feel that her environment had changed, and as she looked around, she realized she was laying on the bed in the back room of the plane.

"Hey we are about to land." Oliver whispered to her in the dark. He was sitting at the side of the bed. For a second, it felt like Oliver and her were in love, and he was going to lean down and give her a kiss.

Instead he leaned down and turned on the bedside light. Felicity groaned at the sudden light.

"Thanks. I'll be out in a second." Felicity said not meeting his eyes. Oliver stood up but hesitated for a second like he wanted to say something else. Instead he quickly left. Felicity took a few minutes to compose herself, and by the time she hurriedly rushed to her seat, the plane was beginning its descant. However that didn't mean Felicity didn't notice Isabel give her a scathing glare.

The process for entering the country was pretty mainstream. Felicity's immense enjoyment about traveling somewhere she had never been before was severely dampened when Oliver informed her that she wasn't going with them but to the hotel with Isabel. Felicity's limo ride with the woman was thankfully silent, and Felicity was quickly showed to her room.

Felicity checked her phone to see multiple text message alerts. One was from Oliver telling her to meet in his room at ten the next morning.

The next two were from her mother. One asking how she was feeling and then a bunch of letters telling Felicity that her mother had accidently butt texted her.

Detective Lance also texted her asking how she was, which made Felicity smile. Laurel and Sara were lucky to have him as a father.

Speaking of, Laurel had sent her a picture of herself wearing a home facial mask. Felicity downright laughed at that and sent a silly face picture back.

After replying to the rest of the messages, a mixture of jetlag and being pregnant made Felicity feel exhausted. So she passed out, just barely waking when her alarm went off at 9 am.

By the time Felicity enter Oliver's room at ten, she was feeling very awake. Even more so when she learned about the plan.

"You're planning on getting sent to jail?" Felicity asked incredulously. "That sounds like a terrible plan!"

"It's going to work." Oliver said zipping up the bag of drugs for Dig. "We are using your tracking devices in the coat so we know where he goes, and Anatoly promises it's going to work."

Dig put on the coat and grabbed the bag. Felicity engulfed him in a giant hug.

"Be careful." She whispered.

"Always." Dig answered with a shake of his head. Then he was gone. After a few seconds, Oliver came towards her with their coats.

"We've got an errand to run." He said while helping her into her coat.

It turned out the errand was buying a prison vehicle from the black market.

Oliver and she stood by the car as Anatoly negotiated for the prison car. Felicity could feel the tension in Oliver's shoulders as he watched for threats. He had a hand on the small of her back.

The deal in front of them didn't seem to be going very good. Oliver had obviously noticed this also because he strode forward and whispered into the main man's ear. Very suddenly after that, the keys were given to Oliver and the other people left.

Anatoly took the keys and got into the truck, and Oliver returned to her side. He opened her door for her.

"What did you say?" Felicity asked not getting into the car yet. Oliver gave her a secret smile.

"Please." He whispered intimately. All felicity could do was blink and get into the car. Oliver soon joined her.

The ride back to the hotel was pleasantly silent. Felicity felt peaceful even with the giant elephant hanging over her shoulders.

"Let's meet at my room at nine." Oliver told her when they got back. Felicity just nodded and left to go to her room.

Nine was hours away, and Felicity was restless. She tried to entertain herself but couldn't find anything to keep her mind occupied so she decided to go to the hotel bar area to get a glass of juice.

Just as she was entering, Isabel was leaving with a disgusted look on her face. Oliver was sitting on a bar stool staring into his drink, so she walked up to him.

"Come here often?" Felicity joked. Oliver looked up at her seemingly surprised to see her. After letting what she said sink in, he gave her a soft smile.

"No not really." He laughed Oliver's eyes saddened. "Can we talk maybe in private?"

"Yeah." Felicity agreed quietly, Oliver lead the way to his room. Unlike this afternoon, the silence had a certain tension to it that Felicity didn't understand.

Oliver opened the door for her and shut it after they had both entered. The two them took a seat next to each other on the one of the couches. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other. Then Oliver launched towards her.

Their lips crashed together so passionately, it was hard for Felicity to tell where she ended and Oliver began.

One of Oliver's hands was gripping the back of her neck and the other was at the small of her back pushing her forward so that there was no room in-between them.

Felicity's hands were pulling at Oliver's shirt to get it off, and once it did Felicity went to town sucking and nipping at Oliver's neck which made some delicious sounds come out from his mouth. Before she could blink, Oliver had bunched her dress above her thighs and pushed her panties to the side. Oliver quickly found her clit and got to work in preparing her, making her groan.

Felicity felt herself get wetter and wetter. She grabbed his cock through his jeans and gave a few rubs, making Oliver throw back his head. Quickly Felicity undid his jeans and pulled them down, boxers in tow.

Felicity straddled Oliver, and he captured her lips with his own before thrusting up hitting his mark on the first time. His hands had now tangled themselves into Felicity's hair while Felicity's were clawing at his back, squeezing at every up stroke.

On one particular hard thrust, Oliver hit her just right and made her throw back her head and scream. Felicity's inner walls clenched which made Oliver let out a pained groan. Felicity leaned down to capture his mouth just as his hand found its place on her clit and then gave a hard thrust.

With no warning, Felicity fell over a cliff a pleasure. Her orgasm ripped through her leaving a puddle on top of Oliver.

Oliver thrusted a few more times before reaching his climax. It was only as Felicity felt Oliver cum inside her did she realize that they hadn't used protection. Although it didn't really matter, seeing as she was already pregnant.

For a few minutes, the duo leaned on each other as they fought to catch their breath. The quiet was nice, and Felicity felt happy.

Their peaceful moment was ruined when both Felicity and Oliver's phones went off.

Felicity hurriedly got off of Oliver and reached for her phone to shut off her alarm that she had set to remind herself meet up with Oliver.

Oliver was speaking Russian into his phone so Felicity assumed he was talking to Anatoly. She waited for a few minutes and made herself decent, unsure what else to do. Oliver hung up and gave her a quick look.

"I'll meet you in the lobby in 15 minutes." He said before going into the bedroom and shutting the door. Felicity sighed and left to get ready.

If Felicity thought her ride to the hotel was awkward, this was ride was ten times worse. You could cut the tension with a knife.

While they waited for" Anatoly to get into the prison vehicle in silence until Oliver cleared his throat.

"Felicity—"

""I don't want to talk about it." She interrupted him, staring straight forward.

"I really think—" Once again Oliver was interrupted when Anatoly got back into the truck.

Felicity knew she would eventually have to talk to Oliver about what happened, but thankfully it wasn't going to be right that moment.

Eventually came a lot quicker than Felicity had hoped.

Two days later after saving Dig and his ex-wife Lyla from prison, Felicity was just finishing her day at Queen Consolidated, when Oliver came and stood in front of her desk.

"Felicity." Oliver said to get her attention.

"You don't have to say it Oliver. I already know what you are going to say." She said, shaking her head and gathering her things.

"I don't think you do." Oliver said making eye contact with her. Felicity raised her eyebrow for him to continue. "I have feelings for you."

Felicity blinked. Oliver was right, she did not know what he was going to say. Before she could answer, he kept talking.

"But I can't be with you." That was more of what she was expected. "You deserve better than me. And in our line of work, it's too dangerous to be with you."

Felicity eyes starting tearing up. Before Oliver could stop her not that he would, Felicity left her desk and went on her way to her car. She geld in her tears while she drove.

Once Felicity stopped, she wasn't all too surprised to find herself outside Dig's apartment. He was the only one who would understand.

While she waited for Dig to answer the door, the tears started to slowly falling. She could hear laughing on the other side of the door before it opened to reveal Lyla staring at her.

"Johnny. It's for you." She yelled over her shoulder, and then ushered her in. Dig turned the corner with a smile on his face only for it to disappear once he saw he her.

"Felicity what's wrong?" Dig asked walking towards her before guiding her to the couch.

"I'm—pr—pregnant." Felicity said in tears before breaking down in sobs in Dig's safe arms around her.

"It's Oliver's. Isn't it?" Dig asked. Felicity just nodded her head in his shoulder. "Have you told him?"

Felicity shook her head. Dig gave her a few minutes to compose herself. Lyla was sitting on her other side rubbing her back.

"There's more." Felicity whispered. "We kissed, and then when we were in Russia, we had sex.

Dig starting mumbled curses at Oliver. He squeezed her tight.

"I could kill that boy." Felicity laughed. Lyla put her arms around Felicity's shoulders, and she felt like maybe everything would be okay.


	7. State vs Queen

Waking up on the morning of the first day of her 16th week of pregnancy, Felicity immediately noticed that something was different. Sitting up, she felt an unusual pull from her shirt. When she looked down, the first thing she saw was a bump, her bump to be precise.

Her belly had finally "popped" as the internet had said it would. There was no more time to stall. Once Moria's trial was over in a couple of days, she was telling Oliver.

With that in mind, Felicity dressed in her most loose-fitting blouse and trousers. Thankfully her efforts were rewarded when she looked in the mirror and could only see a tiny bump.

Plus Oliver was out of the office all day for his mother's trial.

This thought kept a smile on her face throughout her morning and up till when Dig entered the office looking terrible.

"No offense, but you don't look so good. Are you feeling ok?" Felicity asked. Dig sighed as he leaned on her desk.

"Aren't I suppose to ask you that?" Dig said with a pained chuckle. "It's fine. I'm going home after I arrange for a replacement bodyguard."

"Did you get the flu shot?" Felicity asked as she came around her desk to place a hand on Dig's shoulder. "Because if you did it's obviously not working."

"Yeah. I don't think it's the flu." Dig coughed out before crumbling to the floor.

"Oh my god! Dig!" Felicity exclaimed, leaning down to check his condition. He blinked up at her.

"I'm fine. Just help me to the car and drive me to the foundry."

Felicity put an arm around his shoulder and hoisted him up. Their walk to the elevators went slowly, and by the time felicity got John into his car, she was seating as much as he was.

The rest in the car must have been good for him, because when it was time to exit the car and get into the foundry, it significant less amount of time.

"Don't call Oliver." Dig said as she helped him up onto the medical table. "He has enough on his plate."

After the last word left Dig's mouth, he grunted and passed out. She was definitely calling Oliver.

Except it went straight to his voicemail.

"Oliver. It's Felicity. Dig is really sick and passed out. We're in the foundry. Thought I'd let you know." Felicity said before hanging up.

She needed to find out what was wrong with Dig. Felicity quickly drew a vial of blood to test. A few minutes later when the blood test was finished, Dig began to wake up. Felicity was at his side instantly.

"Take it easy." She said before grabbing one of the washcloths and wetting it. "I almost thought you weren't going to wake up."

Felicity placed the cloth on Dig's neck who instantly sighed in relief.

"Do you—know what's…wrong with me?" Dig asked coughing. Before Felicity could answer, Oliver strode down the foundry steps.

"What are you doing here?" Dig asked Oliver shaking like he was freezing.

"I heard you passed out." Oliver told him. Dig just rolled his eyes. Oliver looked back at her. "What's wrong with him?"

"I ran a small blood test, and it came back positive for vertigo." She told the duo, helping Dig sit up and handed him a blanket. Felicity walked over to her computer.

"The count is in jail though." Dig said confused. Felicity did a little of her computer magic.

"Actually he's not. He got out after…" Felicity paused and looked at Oliver. "After the undertaking."

Oliver grimaced and went over to his case of arrows. He grabbed on and walked back to her.

"I know what you're thinking Oliver." Felicity said with a sigh. Oliver shook his head. "You were right not to kill this guy."

"I know Felicity." He said quietly before handing her the arrow from his hand. "Give this to Dig. It's the fix for vertigo. Text me if you find anything."

Oliver turned around to face Dig. He gave the sick man a pat on the back and left. Dig just rolled his eyes.

About a half hour after giving Dig the cure and nothing was happening. Her research wasn't doing anything, and Dig was only feeling worse.

Felicity was letting some background searches go on as she stood next to Dig making sure he wasn't dying.

"He deserves to know the truth." Dig whispered besides her startling her from her thoughts. "No matter what's going on between you two."

"You don't think I know that?" Felicity seriously asked him. Dig just shook his head.

"I think you're scared. Rightly so." Dig coughed before continued. "Oliver has got his head up his ass, and yeah he might run."

Dig paused and put a hand on hers.

"He took your choice in your relationship away from you, and you can't do that to him with the baby."

Felicity sighed. Dig silently pulled her in for a hug.

A couple seconds later, a ping from her computer and Oliver coming down the stairs startled both of them.

Felicity went to her computer, with Oliver and Dig's murmured conversation behind her. Her exclamation caught their attention.

"Hey guys! Come look at this." Felicity yelled.

On the screen, the Count had Adam Donner hostage. The three watched as the Count taunted the man. Felicity quietly began trying to hack into the feed on her other computer.

"Got him!" Felicity said at the end of the broadcast. "There is a symbol in the reflection of his eyes. It's for the City Municipal Building."

"I'm on my way." Oliver said before leaving to get changed.

Over the comms, Felicity listened as Oliver fought the Count and saved Adam Donner. Behind her, Dig dosed on the cot she had put in.

Felicity's worry for Dig, Oliver and her baby pushed her through the night and the in the morning when she arrived back at the foundry.

It wasn't till Laurel called her asking if they could meet did Felicity let up on her worry.

Dig assured her he would be fine for the few hours that she would be gone, and with that promise, Felicity met Laurel at Big Belly Burger.

"Hey. Thanks for meeting with me." Laurel said after they both had sat down with their orders.

"It's what friends are for." Felicity said shrugging. Laurel gave her a sad smile.

"I think I need to apologize." Laurel told her. Felicity furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "When I saw you at Big Belly Burger last time, I was in so much pain and wanted someone else to feel that pain too. I shouldn't have said anything about you and Oliver. It's none of my business."

At this point, Laurel was looking down at her hands visible saddened by the words she was saying. Felicity still couldn't believe that the woman in front of her was her friend let alone was basically telling her that she and Oliver were free to do what they please.

"As Oliver's ex-girlfriend, you're right. It's not." Laurel looked up as Felicity smiled at her. "But maybe as my friend it is. I forgive you."

Laurel let out a huff of relief and pulled Felicity in for a hug. The rest of the meal was spent in light conversation. By the time Felicity had enter the lair she felt much more relaxed and ready to have another go at finding the count again.

Dig was sitting up at a chair. He was looking a little better but Felicity could tell he was still in pain.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" She asked before settling unto her computer chair. Dig let out a string of coughs.

"Like I'm only slightly dying." Dig coughed out. "But I'd feel better once we catch this guy."

Felicity nodded her agreement ad pulled up the map she was working on.

"This is a map of all the victim's home addresses. And as you can see, there is no pattern." Felicity dejectedly informed him.

Dig let out a groan and thought for a few seconds.

"Ok. What if people weren't getting hit at home but at work? Can you do this by work addresses?"

Felicity rolled her eyes but kept her sassy retort to herself and did what he asked. She widened her eyes.

"It's like a path." She said following the path with a finger. "Anywhere you've been?"

"Yeah. 8th and Lexon. That's where I got my flu shot from a traveling flu shot truck."

Felicity turned to her other computer and did some hacking.

"It looks like that truck is parked at Henneth Avenue." She said after a couple minutes. "Should I call Oliver?"

"No. He has the trial. I'll go." Dig tried to get up but couldn't even stand fully. Felicity shook her head and helped him sit back down.

"Dig you are not up to it. I'll do it." Felicity said, standing up to get her coat.

"It's too dangerous and you're pregnant." He said.

"Don't worry. I'll call Detective Lance to come with." Felicity told him. Dig shook his head but didn't say anything else. She smiled and gave him a hug before heading up the stairs pulling her phone out and dialing Lance.

"Ms. Smoak? To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked through the phone.

"I'm doing a small mission for information on the Count. I was informed going alone would be unwise. Would you come with me?" She asked as she got into her car. She heard Lance sigh over the phone.

"Going alone would definitely be unwise. Give me an address and I'll be there in five minutes." Felicity smiled.

"320 Henneth Avenue."

"Don't even think about investigating without me." Lance sternly told her. Felicity laughed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." She said before hanging up.

A few minutes later, she pulled up a block or so away from the truck. Felicity sat waiting for ten minutes. They were losing time, and since no one had come around, Felicity decided to check it out without Lance.

Felicity slowly made her way to the truck and knocked on the door. When no sound was made from inside, she quietly entered the truck. She opened and closed several drawers. Finally she opened a cabinet and found many vials of vertigo.

"Gotcha!" She said.

"Funny. That's what I was going to say." Felicity whirled around to see the Count with a twisted smile on his face and a wrench in his hand. He raised his arm over his head and brought it down on her head.

Then the next thing Felicity knew was darkness.

When Felicity woke up, she could tell she was laying on a hard surface. She could make out an angry voice coming from a few feet away from her which she assumed was the Count.

Blinking away the pain at the light, Felicity opened her eyes and saw that she was in the conference room on the top floor of QC. For a little while, Felicity drifted between fully conscious and pain-induced sleep.

After a few minutes or maybe hours, Felicity finally woke up all the way. When she opened her eyes, the Count was leaning down beside her stroking a finger down her cheek. Felicity shuddered.

The Count gave her a wicked smile.

"So glad you've awoken." He paused as a sound was heard from the bank of elevators. "Just in time for our guest."

He then grabbed her hair and pulled her up. Felicity let out a pained gasp and cried out as she felt a gun press into her temple.

Oliver turned the corner in his suit but not wearing the hood up. Which meant that the Count had figured out who the vigilante was because of her.

Felicity couldn't hear the conversation over the rushing of blood in her ears. She resisted putting her hands on her stomach. It was better if the Count didn't have anything else over her or Oliver, and Oliver didn't deserve to learn of his child like this.

Suddenly bullets whipped past her head towards Oliver who was already moving out of the way. The Count the pulled her into the office and to the couch. Oliver was behind them with a nocked arrow. Her hearing finally came back to her.

"Put the arrow down or she gets a taste of vertigo." The Count said, keeping one hand on her neck and the other holding a vial of vertigo next to her side. Oliver dropped the arrow.

"Please. She has nothing to do with this." Oliver pleaded. Felicity began to cry.

"Oh but she does." The Count said before his hand was flying through the air about to puncture her skin with the syringe.

However Oliver was faster, and his three arrows flew through the air landing in the Count's chest and the force pushed him out the window.

Before Felicity could fall to the ground, Oliver had reached her and swept her up into her arms. Felicity could feel his head fall into the juncture of her shoulder and neck. For several minutes, the duo held each other and cried.

There was a noise from the outer office at which Oliver quickly separated from her, pulled his hood up, and nocked an arrow.

When Detective Lance ran in with his gun drawn, Oliver visibly relaxed. Lance gave a sigh of relief and let his gun down.

"You'd better get out of here. The police are on their way." Lance informed Oliver, who in turn gave her a quick glance. "Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

With that, Oliver sighed and gave her a kiss on the forehead that felt like he was pushing all his feelings into. He then quickly left the office. Lance shook his head and made his way to her.

"You alright sweetheart?" Lance asked just as the rest of the police force entered the office.

Felicity started to nod but suddenly found her vision blurring, and her heart racing.

And for the second time that day, Felicity fell into the darkness.

When she woke up the next time, Felicity didn't feel anything but she wasn't quite sure what was going on. A beeping noise from her left and mumblings from her right were the first things she recognized.

She slowly blinked open her eyes with the flood of light in the room.

"Hey daring." A familiar voice said from her side. "Gave me quite a scare."

Felicity turned and saw Dig and Lance standing and watching over her.

"I passed out." She said, mostly to herself but the duo nodded. Felicity let her hands run over stomach and quickly looked up. "Is the baby ok?"

"Everything is fine with you and the baby. It was just stress." Dig informed her. Felicity sighed in relief. Lance placed a hand on hers that was resting on her stomach and gave a comforting squeeze.

"You need rest. I'll be back later to get a statement." Lance said, giving her a smile before leaving. Felicity turned to Dig.

"You look better." She said surprised. Dig laughed.

"Yeah. Apparently all I needed was time for it to run out of my system." He happily told her.

"Oliver?" Felicity said his name, not sure what she was asking. Dig gave her a small smile.

"His mother's trial is almost over so he'll be here after it's done."

Felicity sighed. Dig rubbed her hand.

"Get some rest." He told her. Felicity followed his advice and let sleep pull her under.

This time when Felicity woke up she knew where she was and was aware of another person sitting next to her with a hand on hers.

When she blinked her eyes open and saw Oliver staring at her, Felicity knew it was time. She couldn't delay it any longer.

"I'm—I'm glad you're ok Felicity." Oliver said choked up. Felicity intertwined their fingers. "I don't know how I could live with myself if something had happened to you."

Felicity choked back a sob.

"Oliver I have to tell you something." She whispered. Oliver looked at her confused. She squeezed his hands and went for it. "I'm pregnant."

Oliver blinked, clearly not expected her to say that.

"What?" He breathed out. Felicity shook her head.

"The night of the Undertaking…" Felicity trailed off, Oliver took his hand from hers and ran it over his face.

"I don't—how long have you known?" He asked, looking confused and hurt. Felicity started to cry.

"Since you came back from the island."

"Two months!" Oliver shouted. "You've known for two months and you didn't tell me!"

Felicity sobbed at his outburst. Oliver was pacing the floor at the bottom of her bed.

"I wanted to tell you but everything was so crazy. I know that doesn't mean anything." Felicity said through her tears. "I'm sorry Oliver. Please believe me. I'm so sorry."

Oliver looked back at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He quickly grabbed his jacket and left without another word.

Felicity just sobbed.

The next morning she was released, and Dig took her home. The ride was quiet. Dig had returned with Lyla in tow just as Oliver had left. He and Lyla had comforted her into the hours of the morning.

Dig silently settled her onto the couch before telling her to call if she needed anything.

About an hour after Dig had left there was a knock on her door. It was Oliver.

They quietly sat on separate ends of her couch for a few minutes.

"I'm still angry and hurt that you didn't tell me." Oliver sighed. "But I can understand why it was difficult for you to tell me."

Felicity sighed in relief. She looked at him with hope. Oliver gave her a slight shake of his head.

"This doesn't change the fact that we can't be together." Felicity slowly nodded. Oliver scooted over towards her and wrapped an arm around he shoulders and pulled her into his side. "But I'm going to be here for you and the baby."

Felicity sighed into his shoulder and closed her eyes. She felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off her shoulders, yet something still felt wrong.

Felicity had told Oliver, but yet she felt alone as ever.


	8. The Scientist

Felicity and Oliver were in the back of a town car with Dig driving in the front. It had been two weeks since Oliver had found out about her pregnancy. Their non-relationship had been at an awkward stand still. Conversations were short and tense, mostly focused on their night work or the baby.

They were on their way to the Queen Mansion to have dinner with Moria and Thea. Felicity was ecstatic that Oliver had already told his mother and sister. She didn't know if she could handle being there for that. It was still terrifying. Felicity had only met the two in passing, and she certainly wasn't as important to them as she was now being the mother of their grandchild and niece or nephew. Oliver had promised her that everything would be okay, but what did he know.

The car came to a stop, and Oliver squeezed her hand in his.

As they exited the car, Oliver put a hand on her back to guide her, Dig was at her side and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Oliver and Felicity." Moria greeted from the door. The poised Queen looked as happy as Felicity had ever seen her, which wasn't saying much. Thea was at her side with a huge smile on her face.

When Felicity and Oliver entered the house, Thea bounded up to her and pulled her into a hug. Felicity blinked, surprised.

"I'm so happy to meet you." Thea exclaimed. Oliver let out a huff of air that sounded vaguely like a laugh. "Here. Let me take your coat."

As Thea took her coat from her, Felicity's stomach was on display. She was around 18 weeks along so nowhere near having a huge tummy, but it was still easily noticeable.

Moria was staring at it, like she was surprised by how far along Felicity was. Felicity was staring in glee.

"How—How far along are you?" Moria broke the silence.

"18 weeks." Oliver said with a little pride in his voice. Felicity looked up with a smile towards him. Say what you may about her relationship with Oliver, but he was acting like the perfect soon-to-be dad.

"Well." Moria said. "Let's go into the Dining Room for Dinner shall we?"

With that, the four of them walked together into the room and settled into their seats. Thea was sitting next to her while Oliver sat across from them. Moria was sitting at the head of the table. The conversation was kept light for most the duration of dinner. Felicity almost believed that everything was going to be ok.

Of course her life didn't work like that.

"So Oliver." Thea began, getting Oliver's attention. "When will I be able to call Felicity my sister-in-law?"

Felicity choked on her water. The youngest Queen had made a few stops into Oliver's office but that was the extent of each other's interaction, yet Thea was speaking as if nothing would make her happier. Thea patted her on the back to help stop her coughing.

"Speedy." Oliver said once Felicity was no longer in any danger of choking. "I and Felicity aren't together."

Oliver's tone suggested that the conversation was over, but the damage was done. The rest of the meal had a tense atmosphere around it. Felicity was grateful when Oliver sent her home alone. It gave her time to think.

Yes. She and Oliver were keeping their friendship very platonic. No kissing.

And her feelings for Oliver could have lessened if it wasn't for the fact that he was really good at being an expectant father.

Like crazy good.

He had bought multiple baby books, and when he wasn't training or shooting arrows in people, he was reading them which was the sweetest thing.

At least until he insisted that she had to stop wearing her high heels, stating her balance was changing now that her stomach was bigger. Felicity put her foot down and angrily told Oliver to back off. But then promptly burst into tears at Oliver's disheartened face.

Yeah it had been an interesting few weeks.

The next morning, Felicity had been at the office early to set up for Moria's debut at the board meeting. As usual, Oliver entered with Moria and Dig several minutes late.

Moria gave her a small smile.

"Felicity." Moria said pulling her in for a hug. Felicity shot Oliver a surprised look, who just smiled in return. "How are you feeling dear?"

"Like I swallowed a house, Mrs. Queen." Felicity laughingly said, patting her extended stomach. Oliver and she had decided to not keep her pregnancy a secret. Not that they were going to make an announcement, but it would be too hard to try and hide it from people.

Moria just laughed and allowed Oliver to lead her into the board room. Dig shook his head in amusement and sat down on the couches next to her desk meant for the visitors.

The meeting went on for about an hour. In which Felicity spent her time finishing a few documents and lightly chatting with Dig. That is until her desk phone rang.

"Mr. Queen's office. How can I help you?" She spoke in her professional voice.

"Ms. Smoak. How are you feeling?" Lance said. Felicity scoffed. This man certainly enjoyed being the father figure in her life.

"Detective Lance. I'm feeling the same as yesterday when you called." Felicity informed him. Dig looked up from his phone at Lance's name.

"Alright, Alright. No need to get snippy with me." Lance laughed. Felicity just rolled her eyes.

"Was there an actual reason you called Detective?" Felicity could see the meeting had finished, and Oliver and Isabel were arguing in his office.

"Why matter of fact there is. Tell your baby daddy that the Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences building was broken into last night."

Felicity eyes widened, getting Oliver and Dig's attention. The former of which ended his conversation with Isabel and rushed to her side.

"Will do Detective. We'll be right there." She answered before hanging up. Suddenly both Dig and Oliver were at her side.

"Felicity what's wrong?" Oliver asked obviously trying to calm himself. He placed his hands on her stomach which she batted off as she stood up.

"That was Detective Lance. There was a break-in at Applied Sciences." She told them while grabbing her coat. Oliver gave her a look.

"Me and Dig will take a look at it. You should—" He started.

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence." Felicity stated, glaring at Oliver who sighed in frustration.

"Felicity. It's a crime scene at a science lab and you're pregnant." He argued. Felicity narrowed her eyes and stepped forward into Oliver's personal space.

"Listen here pal." Felicity said, poking him in the chest. "If you think for one second that just because I'm 5 months pregnant you can tell me what to do, then you have another thing coming. I'm going."

With that, Felicity walked around Oliver and headed to the elevator.

The short ride to the Applied Sciences building was silent. While Felicity did son hacking for info, Oliver looked at his phone. Soon the car pulled up beside where Detective Lance was.

As Felicity exited the car with one of Oliver's hands on her back, she smiled at the man who in turn frowned at her and shot a disapproving look towards Oliver.

"What the hell is this Queen? Bringing a pregnant lady to a crime scene!"

Oliver offered her a look that said see-I'm-right. Felicity rolled her eyes.

"What happened Detective?" Felicity asked as the four of them entered the building. Lance sighed.

"It seems a group broke through these doors and killed the guards." Lance said pointing to the big doors. "Since its reinforced steel, we're thinking they used some kind of crane."

"Probably three or four guys since they got in and out so fast." Lance said when they started walking towards the inner parts of the building. "Any idea what they stole? You don't have any spare earthquake machines do you?"

Felicity gave the Detective a glare as Oliver winced.

"Right Sorry." Lance sighed "Before the first guy knocked out the video camera, we got a little something. The rest of the guys must have come in after."

"Actually it was only one guy." A voice from behind them said. When the four of them turned around, they saw a lanky young man walk up to them. Felicity had to admit he was cute.

While the guy was explaining who he was, Felicity couldn't help but feel the need to get the man a blanket. He was dripping wet and shivering. Even though she knew it was all due to her hormones, Felicity just wanted to protect him from harm and maybe give him a snuggle.

She was startled from her mothering instincts when the group started to move forward. They stopped in front of a base that once held a centrifuge.

"You can see where the thief just ripped it from the base." The boy said before making a ripping noise. Felicity felt an overwhelming need to pinch his cheeks.

"What exactly is a centrifuge?" Lance asked from beside her.

"It's a machine that separates liquids." Felicity said off-handily. "What did you say your name was?"

"Barry. Allen." The man—Barry said.

"Felicity. Smoak." She returned with a smile which he returned. Oliver stepped forward with a glare directed towards Barry, blocking him from her view.

His face softened as he turned to look at her.

"Felicity. Don't you have lunch with Laurel soon?" Oliver asked in a quiet tone. Felicity rolled her eyes at his obvious displeasure towards Barry's liking her. "Dig can drive you."

Felicity gave the group a smile in goodbye and let Dig direct her to the car.

Since the baby was let out of the bag to Oliver two weeks ago, they had been telling their friends and families. Felicity had planned on a one-to-one conversation to tell Laurel, but fate had another plan.

Oliver and Felicity had stopped at a small coffee shop before work while Dig waited in the car. It was only a couple days after Oliver had found out so they hadn't really figured out what their new relationship was.

As they entered, Laurel and Detective Lance were exiting.

After a jumble of conversation, it was realized that everyone already knew each other. In another example of great timing, her baby decided to move. Felicity gasped and clenched her stomach which led to a concerned Oliver and Lance and a confused Laurel.

Felicity's pregnancy and the father soon came to light after she reassured everyone she was fine, the baby had just moved. These pieces of news made Laurel look pale, and her father rushed their goodbyes and left.

When Laurel called after Felicity's dinner with the Queens to ask her to lunch, Felicity knew it was going to be awkward. And she was right.

She and Laurel sat across from each other in a little diner while Dig was a few seats behind them, obviously on guard duty. They both ate their meals in silence.

"How far along are you?' Laurel suddenly asked breaking the tension. Felicity let out a breath and placed a hand on her stomach.

"18 weeks. Almost half way."

Laurel smiled at Felicity's happy tone.

"And its Oliver's." She simply stated. Felicity still nodded. Laurel cleared her throat. "Well as long as you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

Felicity let her friend direct the conversation away from Oliver and towards other things. Lunch was going well and after about twenty minutes the tension in the air was mostly gone.

That was until Thea walked in with Roy on her hells. The girl immediately spotted the both of them. Her face turned confused. Felicity winced.

"Felicity…Laurel." Thea stated when she and Roy had made their ways to them. "I didn't know you two were friends."

She was looking in-between them as if looking for some answers on their faces.

"Yeah. We've been friends for a little while now." Felicity answered while Laurel gave the youngest Queen an awkward smile before making a show of looking at her watch.

"I've better get back to the office." She said before standing. Laurel hugged her quietly before doing the same to Thea and leaving.

Felicity blinked at her rushed exit. Thea just rolled her eyes and pushed Roy towards the counter to order. She then sat down across from her and gave her a smile.

"So how's my future niece or nephew?" Thea was being extremely pleasant. Felicity just laughed.

"He or she is fine." Felicity placed each of her hands on the table and pushed herself to stand. "I wish I could stay to talk but if I'm not back right when I said I was then your brother freaks out."

"Dig silently joined her while she and Thea made their goodbyes.

Felicity's excuse for leaving was a hundred percent correct since even though she was back five minutes early, Oliver was already pacing his office.

Before Oliver could say anything, Felicity went right into the info she had gathered on the ride back.

"I hacked into the video cameras from the bank across the street. Barry was right, it was only one guy." Felicity said holding a tablet for Oliver and Dig to see.

Oliver looked pained at her use of Barry's first name but took the tablet none-the-less. After looking at it for a few seconds, Oliver suddenly looked up and over her shoulder.

"Is there something we can help you with?" Oliver's professional voice rang out. Felicity turned to see Barry in the office with a childlike grin on his face.

"Just wondering where to put my stuff." He stated looking at Felicity.

"I'll show you." She said, turning to grab her tablet from Oliver's hands. He held firm and grabbed her elbow to drag her a few feet away.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked through a clenched jaw. Felicity rolled her eyes at Oliver's stupidity.

"I told him he could work here. He has a science background that I lack." Felicity said leaving no room for argument. She was feeling particular annoyed at Oliver's obvious jealously. "Plus he's cute."

With that, Felicity snatched her tablet, turned on her heels, and walked over to Barry.

"We'll walk to the lab, if that's alright. Since it's such a nice day."

Felicity and Barry worked side by side for an hour quietly before Felicity's feet protested too much, and she was forced to find a seat. That was exactly the moment Barry found something.

"Looks like our thief left some particulars behind." Barry said holding up a vial before walking back to the work station. "We'll just let this get analyzed."

Barry put the substance in a machine before turning to look at her. He had a hesitant smile on his face which made Felicity want to either cry or laugh at the cuteness.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked before continuing at her nod. "What's the vigilante like?"

Felicity blinked. She hadn't expected that.

"I heard he saved you. From the Count." Barry's voice took an enthusiastic tone. Felicity was reminded of a kid at Christmas. It gave her a lightness in her heart that hadn't been there since before the night of the Undertaking.

"It was all kind of a blur." She quietly told him, trying to appease his need for information while not giving too much away.

Felicity felt a small fluttering in her tummy like the baby was agreeing with her. She placed a hand by where the feeling was coming from. Barry noticed her hand moving and watched her rub her pregnant belly.

Before Barry could ask the many questions that Felicity was sure he had, the machine dinged.

Felicity slowly pushed herself up to see what the substance was.

"It has traces of…sugar." Barry said confused. Felicity sighed and pushed him out of the way. She took up shop at the computer.

"The local sugar refinery just had a van stolen a couple days." She said after a few minutes. The thief almost definitely stole that van.

Barry didn't say anything as Felicity started a trace, just as Oliver and Dig walked in.

"Have you found anything yet?" Oliver asked, looking directly at her.

"Barry found a substance left behind by the thief. It was sugar." Felicity pointed at the computer next to her. "And Starling's sugar refinery just had a van stolen. I don't think it's a coincidence."

Oliver was obviously trying to figure out what he was going to do next when a ping on her computer went off.

"What's that?" Oliver asked.

"You won't believe this but that stolen van was just used to steal from…a blood bank." Felicity wasn't quite sure what a super strong person needed with blood, unless he was some kind of vampire.

"We should get this information to the police." Barry said to the group with a concerned look on his face.

"I'll take care of it." Oliver said to Barry before looking back to Felicity and pulling her to the side. "I'm going to go take care of this. Finish up here and then Dig will bring you to the foundry."

Felicity sighed at the short conversation as Oliver turned and walked away. She didn't understand why Oliver was keeping her at arm's length while still being so close to her and their child. He was such a confusing person.

No matter what her feelings were towards him, she followed his orders.

By the time Felicity had finished up with Barry and Dig had driven them to the Foundry, Oliver was already back into his street clothes starting to patch up a gash on his side.

Felicity set down her stuff and went to help Oliver. Dig stood a few feet away.

"What happened?" Dig asked when Felicity finished putting the bandage on. Oliver lowered his shirt down and grimaced.

"He was strong, and I couldn't defeat him." Oliver looked frustrated. Felicity stood back waiting for Oliver to say more.

"What aren't you telling us man?" Dig asked, crossing his arms. Oliver sighed.

"You're right. I've seen this before, on the island." For a second, Oliver was somewhere else. When he returned, he had a look of immense pain on his face. "It's a Japanese drug, meant to make super soldiers."

Oliver shook his head and walked over to a table. For a couple seconds, they stood in silence.

Super soldiers? Felicity didn't know if she could believe that, but Oliver certainly did. She could tell he wasn't telling them everything.

Oliver suddenly turned around to face her. He walked into her personal space and gently place a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me drive you home." Oliver quietly stated. Although his tone of voice made it seem like he was calm, something about him gave off a distant vibe that nothing was ok. So Felicity nodded.

The drive to her apartment building was tense. Oliver was clenching the steering wheel, and Felicity was trying to figure out what to say.

When Oliver parked in front of her building, Felicity finally decided to speak.

"Oliver, what aren't you saying?" She turned in her seat to face him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Oliver stared straight ahead.

"I had a friend who was injected with it. The only way for me to stop him was to kill him." Oliver kept a detached tone of voice, like he wasn't talking about killing his friend. He turned to face her. "I can't lose you or the baby, Felicity. Promise me you'll be safe."

Oliver grabbed her arms frantically squeezed. Felicity wasn't sure where that had come from but none-the-less, she nodded. Oliver pulled her into a hug.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said into his shoulder.

"The analyzing will take a while." Barry told Felicity as he shut the top of the machine. She smiled up at him in thanks. She was exhausted.

Last night after Oliver had let go of her, he gave her the arrow with the blood of the guy he faced off with. Then she got out of the car and went into her building. Felicity tossed and turned all night, thinking about what Oliver had said to her.

"I'm still confused." Barry said, sitting next to her and interrupting her thoughts. "How did Oliver get this blood sample?"

"He has some ins with police force." Felicity slowly said, mindlessly rubbing a hand across her stomach. Barry nodded his head, letting his eyes follow her hand's movements.

"How far along are you?" Barry quietly asked after a few minutes of silence. Felicity smiled at hi subdued behavior, as if he was afraid of offending her.

"18 weeks." She said with an encouraging smile.

"It's Oliver's right?" He asked unsure. Felicity let out a laugh.

"That easy to see huh?" Felicity looked down at her hands. Barry let out a relieved huff of air and chuckled.

"Yeah. You guys make a cute couple." He said almost as an afterthought.

"Oh no. Me and him are not together." Felicity angrily said. Barry raised an eyebrow. "The idiot can't take his head out of his ass long enough to go on a date with me."

Barry looked slightly uncomfortable at her admission. Felicity mentally face palmed; she really needed to learn to filter.

"I'm sorry." She grimaced. "That's TMI. Um…to forgive me, would you like to come with me to my work party tonight as my plus one?"

Barry blinked in surprise, and then gave her a grin.

"I'd love to." He said.

Felicity was glad. She needed some more friends that weren't involved in her pregnancy so much.

"That won't be happening." Oliver's voice rang out from behind them. Felicity turned to look at him as he walked up to them with a glare directed towards Barry. "I talked to your supervisor who said he never gave you this case."

Barry paled and sighed. Felicity gave him a questioning look.

"My mother was murdered in an…unusual way. I look for special cases to try and find the murderer." Barry said with a sad look on his face. Felicity sighed in empathy. Her maternal instincts were kicking in again.

"Your father was convicted as her murderer." Oliver stated bluntly with no emotion. Barry sprang from his seat with a furious look on his face.

"He didn't do it!" Barry said through a clenched jaw. Felicity waited quietly as Oliver and Barry glared at each other. Finally Barry sighed and grabbed his coat.

"I'm sorry Felicity. I have to go." And then Barry was out the door.

Felicity turned to Oliver with a furious expression. For his part, Oliver looked completely innocent. If Felicity hadn't known his so well, she would have missed the slight twinkle in his eyes that looked like smugness.

"What the hell was that?" She said in her loud voice. Felicity pushed up from her seat, batting away Oliver's hands when he tried to help. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"He was lying Felicity." Oliver evenly told her. She scoffed.

"Bullshit! We do that every day. What's the real reason?" Felicity huffed in frustration. Oliver let out a breath.

"I don't think with everything that's happening…that it's a good idea for you to spend time with new people. They could be dangerous." Oliver slowly let out as if he thought about every word before saying it.

"So I'm not allowed to have friends?" Felicity yelled confused. A look of pain crossed Oliver's face. An emotion passed through his eyes, and suddenly everything became clear. "Oh I get it. I'm not allowed to have cute boys as friends."

Oliver clenched his jaw but made no move to deny it.

"You are such an asshole." Felicity angrily whispered. "You can't keep telling me that we can't be together because I'd be in danger Oliver. You and I both know that's bullshit. You have another reason for not wanting us to be together, and whatever it is, you have no right telling me who to spend my time with."

By this point, Felicity was crying. She turned around to get her purse and coat and to wipe her tears. When she turned back around, Oliver was looking at her with a sad expression. Felicity shook her head and walked around him.

She was done waiting around for a man that was never going to love her.

Standing at the bottom of the staircase in the Queen mansion, Felicity wasn't sure she wanted to be at this party. She wasn't really in a partying mood.

The Queen family descended the staircase. Both Moria and Thea smiled and gave her hugs. Oliver brought her to the side. He gave her a small smile.

"Felicity, I wanted to apologize. You were right, and I shouldn't have done what I did." Oliver meaningfully said to her. Felicity gave him a smile.

"Thank you. But Oliver, I think you should apologize to your mother." Felicity said before tilting her head towards where Thea and Moria were entering the ballroom. Oliver gave her a confused look before disappearing after his family.

This was good. She and Oliver were on the same page. He expressed the fact that he didn't want to be with her, and she gave up on the hope that he would change his mind.

Felicity entered the ballroom and stood next to Oliver at the side of the room.

"Care to dance?" Oliver asked, not looking at her. Before Felicity could offer a sassy retort, she started to feel a little dizzy. It was over before Oliver could notice, but Felicity didn't want to risk it by dancing.

"Not really. A kind of have a new center of gravity now, makes my bad dancing even worse." Felicity let out a little chuckle as she rubbed her slightly extended stomach. When she looked up, Oliver was looking at her with a fond look on his face.

Felicity looked to her side for a chair to sit in and sat down. Before she could say anything else, Thea descended upon her. She was holding a plate filled with food and a glass of what looked like juice.

"Excuse me Oliver. I'm trying to feed my niece or nephew." Thea said handing her the dishes. Oliver let out a chuckle.

"Thank you Thea." Felicity sincerely said. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the food was put in front of. Her hungry was probably the cause of her dizziness earlier. Felicity began to eat while Thea gave her the same fond smile that Oliver had.

"Sorry I'm late." A new voice said from beside her. Felicity turned to see Barry sit down next to her. Thea glared down at the man that was giving Felicity a bright smile.

"Who the hell are you?" Thea snapped out. Barry and Felicity looked at her surprised.

"Speedy. Let's talk." Oliver said, pulling the younger Queen away.

Thankfully Barry didn't ask and just entered into a conversation with her.

For an hour, Felicity and Barry sat and talked, their friendship growing. That was until her and Barry's phones both pinged.

Felicity looked down and say an alert saying that the machine had finally figured out what sedative the substance was. She looked over to Barry who had a grimace on his face. He turned to her with an apologetic smile on his face.

"That was my Captain. He found out what happened." Barry said rubbing his neck and standing up. "He wants me on the next train to Central City."

Felicity stood up and gave him a hug.

"Don't be a stranger." She said.

When Barry was gone, Felicity turned around to find Oliver and Dig standing there.

"The alert for the machine pinged. The thief's blood had high doses of a strong sedative called ketamine." Felicity told the two. "It's used mostly in surgical medicine. I'll need my equipment in the foundry to find out more."

Oliver nodded. The duo made their goodbyes. Soon they were walking into the foundry still in their fancy clothes. Felicity took a few tense moments to do some hacking.

"Found something. The only place with enough of that medicine." She pulled up a picture of an old warehouse. "It's an Argus disaster bunker. It has all sorts of supplies, including ketamine."

"I'm on my way." Oliver said before turning to get changed

"Wait, look." Dig said pointing to the computer screen where Roy's arrow was stuck in the wall.

"I'll take care of it on my way out." Oliver said and then he was gone.

Felicity went to change into some less fancy digs, and by the time she was back she could hear Oliver driving to the warehouse over the comms.

She nervously paced for a few minutes before turning to face Dig.

"I don't have a good feeling about this Dig. He couldn't beat this guy before. What's different now?"

"Yeah. Good point. I'll go back him up." Dig said before leaving.

Felicity listened over the comms as fighting starting for a short amount of time before suddenly cutting out. Everything was quiet.

"Oliver's been dosed with something. What do you think I should do?" Dig's voice rang out over the comms. Felicity wracked her brain for an idea.

"Get Barry from the train station. He knows chemicals, and then bring them both back here." She said to Dig.

"On it."

Felicity hoped that Barry would help them, because Oliver couldn't die. Not now when he finally known the truth.

Oliver couldn't die, because Felicity loved him.


	9. Three Ghosts

After Oliver had finally stabilized with the help of Barry, Felicity sat in her chair and tried to calm down. Stress wasn't good for the baby, and lately it seemed that that was all Felicity's life consisted of.

Felicity refused to look away from Oliver. She had just told him about the baby, and now he's almost died. Her constant vigilance over him meant that she was the first to notice Oliver waking up and then trying to strangle Barry.

"Oliver! Let him go." Felicity scolded, pulling him off of Barry with Dig's help.

Barry bent over a couple of feet away from where Oliver was standing trying to catch his breath. Oliver turned to glare at her.

"You were poisoned." Felicity explained. Dig had stepped back to let the couple fight.

"You told him my secret." Oliver mumbled out through gritted teeth. The excitement of the day had finally reached Felicity, and she suddenly felt dizzy. She slumped down into her chair.

Both Barry and Dig gave her a concerned look. Oliver still had an angry look on his face but had closed the distance between himself and where she was sitting.

"You could have died Oliver." Felicity whispered up to him. Oliver's face relaxed with her words. "I did what I had to save you."

Oliver sighed and crouched down next to her.

"I—I understand. But-" Oliver was interrupted by his phone dinging. He swiftly stood up and looked at it. "It's my mom. I have to go. We will talk about this later."

And with that Oliver turned and left.

Felicity sighed and turned to look at Dig, who looked concerned. She shook her head and went back to her computer.

As Oliver entered his home, he wished he was anywhere but. There had been an awkward tension between him and his mother ever since he had broken the news about Felicity and their baby.

Which still was weird for him to think about. Five months ago he would never had expected to be in the position he was now. Five months ago, Oliver was too focused on the Undertaking and his family to notice how he felt towards the IT girl.

It wasn't until the night after the Undertaking when Oliver was grieving Tommy that he realized the only person he wanted to talk to was Felicity. His intentions had been pure when he got there but increasing amounts of alcohol gave him the stupidity to lean forward and kiss her.

The two months that Oliver spent back on the island gave him time to think about what he truly felt for the blonde IT girl. He quickly realized that he had real feelings for her. Oliver stomped those feelings down, telling himself and anyone who asked that they couldn't be together because it was too dangerous.

It sounded like a lie even to him.

"Oliver. There you are." His mother said as he entered the living room. Moria was standing next to the couch looking impeccable as always.

"Sorry, I had somethings to take care of at the club. What's up?"

"Your sister has locked herself in her room." Moria stated exasperated. "She's refusing to speak to me. I was hoping you'd change her mind."

Oliver wasn't quite sure why Thea would talk to him if she wasn't talking to their mother, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

"I'll go talk to her, Mom." Oliver went to leave, but his mother stopped him.

"Does Felicity have Christmas plans?" Moria asked with her detached interest.

"She's Jewish, so I'm not sure." Oliver had an inclination where the conversation was going, Moria looked unsurprised at the information.

"Well do be sure to let her know she is welcome to spend it with us."

At that moment, Oliver felt a great deal of love for his mother. Their relationship had never been easy or conventional, but Moria took the news of his soon to be fatherhood with grace. This offer of including Felicity into a family event showed him how much his mother had grown.

As Oliver walked upstairs to see his sister, he couldn't help but wonder if Felicity would want to come to their Christmas.

Their relationship had been strained at best since he had learned about the baby. He had kept his word about being there for Felicity for baby things, but it was clear there was more between them then just the baby.

At this point, their feelings for each other were out in the open, but Oliver was keeping them apart.

"Speedy." Oliver said, knocking on her door. He heard faint rustling from the other side.

"Go away." A muffled voice said.

"Come on. It's just me." Oliver held his breath waiting for her response. After a few seconds, the door unlocked and opened to reveal Thea.

She poked her head out of the room, checking for their mother no doubt. Satisfied, Thea allowed him entrance.

Oliver was not entirely surprised to see Roy on the other side, lying on Thea's bed with an arrow through his knee.

After all Oliver has never been known as a mature human being.

"You can't tell Mom." Thea pleaded. Oliver walked closer to Roy and inspected the wound. It was placed just where he wanted it to be.

"What happened?" Oliver innocently asked. Thea shot a glare towards Roy who just looked sheepish.

"Roy has been messing around with the Hood, and the psycho shot him."

"He's not a psycho." Roy grumbled out which set Thea off again.

Oliver walked a few feet away and called Dig, before returning to them.

"Mr. Diggle is going to come and take care of this." Oliver told the two before going back to the door and exiting.

While growing up, the mansion had seemed like a quiet fortress. After five years of having to constantly be aware of his surroundings, Oliver heard all sounds around him and knew what made them.

The banging noise he heard from the next hallway was new.

"Mom?" Oliver questioned. He turned around and didn't see anything. "Mom?"

"Oliver?" A familiar voice said from behind him.

It couldn't be.

Oliver turned around and saw Shado standing. She looked as if they were still on the island.

"You can't be here." He mumbled out, walking closer.

"There's something coming, Oliver. A bad something. You can feel it." Shado told him. Oliver knew this was a hallucination, but he couldn't stop himself from stepping closer.

"What do I do?"

"You have to let be help you. Stop pushing people away." Shado was saying all of his biggest flaws. The logical part of his brain told him it was because she was from his own brain, but it still felt like a puch to the gut.

"I'm sorry Shado." He whispered, closing his eyes. He could almost feel her putting a hand on his face.

"Start living Oliver. Let yourself love."

"Oliver" Thea asked, breaking him out of his own mind. Oliver turned to see a concerned look on her face. "Are you ok?"

The only he could be ok was if he took Shado's advice.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Oliver lied.

Felicity knew that her tiny baby bump wasn't to blame for her extreme exhaustion. After all, she regularly stayed up too late worrying if Oliver was going to live.

As Felicity waited on the tracking system, she sat at her desk and felt herself nod off. That was until Barry dropped something behind her, startling her awake.

"Sorry. Sorry." Barry rushed out. Dig moved forward to check on her, but Felicity waved him off.

Who needs sleep anyways?

The opening of the foundry door stilled Barry. Felicity chuckled at his obviousness. Seems he is still wary about Oliver going after him.

Oliver stalking down the stairs and going straight towards Barry didn't help.

"What are the side effects of the rat poison?" Oliver growled out.

"Um well sweating, uh sometimes a fever. And hallucinating." Barry stumbled out. Felicity smiled at his adorableness. Damn hormones.

Oliver sighed and made his way over to her.

"You ok?" She quietly asked. Oliver gave her a small smile and nodded. Felicity didn't quite believe him.

Before she could dig deeper, an alert went off on her computer.

"What is it?" Dig asked, coming up next to her and Oliver.

"Cyrus Gold. The guy that attacked you. Barry got a print off your neck. I've been looking through the traffic cameras, and I just got a hit."

"Where is he?" Oliver growled out.

"The corner of 8th and Dalto, but I'm about to lose him." Felicity informed them. "There is a hotel there though so…"

"He could be hold up there." Oliver finished. "I'll check it out."

Oliver went to the case with his suit in it. Felicity couldn't believe him.

"Oliver, you were dying last night. At least take Dig with you."

Felicity slowly stood up from the chair. Oliver looked ready to protest, but she gave him a look. He nodded his agreement.

"Only if you go home for the night." Oliver said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Oliver's tone was so concerned, Felicity allowed herself to be walked to her car.

Felicity knew something was deeply affecting Oliver. He was being more protective, and she didn't believe it was just because of the baby.

Never the less, Felicity spent the next couple of hours trying to ease the ache behind her eyes but no luck.

That's why when her phone rang, she picked it up after the first ring.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hi." Oliver said from across the line. "I didn't think you'd be awake."

"My brain doesn't want to shut off." Felicity sighed. "If you didn't think I'd pick up, why'd you call?"

The line was silent.

"Oliver."

"I'm scared."

Felicity held her breath. This side of Oliver was rarely seem, but she knew she had to let him talk at his own pace.

"I've seen this super human strength before and I… I don't think I can handle it again."

She could feel Oliver's panic and fear. Oliver was quiet and so far in his own head. Felicity knew she had to say something.

"I'm scared too. I'm terrified I'm going to mess up our baby." Felicity whispered over the phone. "My parents weren't exactly the best role models."

Several quiet moments passed, the two of them just breathing together.

"Thank you." Oliver whispered before ending the call.

The call wasn't about fixing those fears; it was just about the intimacy that came with sharing them with each other.

Felicity finally fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Her good mood forged on till the next morning while Barry was working on Oliver's blood to see the cause of his hallucinations.

"Any luck?" Felicity asked, coming over to sit next to Barry. Her head had been spinning lately and sitting was way to keep herself up right.

"It's going through the scanner now." Barry informed her. He must have been able to sense her fear. "You and Oliver seem really close."

"Yeah. Well he is the father of my unborn child." Felicity laughed, putting a hand on her stomach. Barry gave her a small smile.

"Before you said you guys aren't together, but you seem more than willing?"

"Oliver is stubborn and he believes that being together would put me in more danger." Felicity said, picking at her nails.

"That doesn't make any sense. He's the father of your kid, and you guys are basically attached at the hip. What difference does it make if you're together?" Barry said confused.

"I don't know Barry. I think he's scared."

Oliver was leaning against the med table in the foundry. He had just sent Felicity and Barry away. They seemed close.

He shook his thoughts away. Felicity is allowed to spend time with other guys. He was one that pushed her away.

"What a scared little boy you are." A voice rang out from behind him, another hallucination.

Please not him. Anyone but him.

Oliver turned and saw Slade standing there like the first day they had met.

"So scared to fell, you push away everyone." Slade taunted him. Oliver straightens, knowing what was coming. "So scared because you know you don't deserve her. Look at what you've done."

Then Slade attacks.

Oliver tries to fight back, but Slade seems to know every move he's going make before he makes it.

The fight feels like it lasts a long time. It takes them crashing through Oliver's case for it to finally ends. Oliver ends up on the floor, and when he looks up, Slade is gone.

"What happened?" Felicity asked, coming down the stairs with Barry in tow, twenty minutes later.

Dig and Oliver were sweeping up glass from the broken case. Dig gave her a look. Barry walks over to the scanner, and Oliver joins him.

"You're test results are done. They're normal. You're fine."

Oliver sighed in frustration. Felicity hears a ding on her computer.

"What now?" Dig jokingly asks. Felicity frowns as she types on her computer.

"Oh my god. Detective Lance was attacked by Gold." Felicity informed them.

"Is he ok?" Oliver asked, stalking up to her.

"He's in the hospital. Pretty beat up but stable."

"I'm going as the Hood to ask him what happened." Oliver said grabbing his suit.

"I'm right behind you." Felicity said.

Felicity shook the entire way to the hospital. Detective Lance was a father figure to her, and losing him would be devastating.

Laurel was sitting outside the room the nurse had directed her towards. She looked up at her approach.

"Felicity? How did you what happened?" Laurel asked confused.

"A friend heard about it on the police scanner." She stumbled out. "How is he?"

Felicity sat down next to her as Laurel sighed.

"Good. He's resting now." Felicity breathed a sigh of relief.

Laurel looks uncomfortable. She refuses to meet Felicity's eyes.

"Laurel?" She quietly questioned.

"I was wrong before. About being ok with you being pregnant with Oliver's baby."

Felicity was taken a back.

"I'm not ok with it. And it's not fair to either of us to pretend that I am." Laurel said with tears in her eyes. "I need some time."

"Of course." Felicity mumbled before slowly standing up. Without looking back, she exited the hallway.

Felicity's friendship with Laurel had been a surprise at first, but eventually she had become of her closest friends. She understood where Laurel was coming from, that didn't mean it wasn't incredibly saddening.

Thankfully Barry and Dig left her to wallow once she had gotten back to the foundry. Oliver hadn't made it back yet.

She distracted herself with futile attempts at finding Gold. That's how Oliver found her and then startled her.

"Hey." Oliver said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Felicity jumped. "It's just me."

"Yeah. Sorry." Felicity distractedly said.

"What's going on?" Oliver was concerned. Felicity shook her head.

"What did Detective Lance say?" She asked back. Oliver looked up to motion Dig and Barry closer.

"Lance gave me this key." Oliver handed it to Felicity. "He said he got it off Gold."

Felicity took it, and her and Barry started off on trying to find Cyrus Gold with it. Oliver and Dig were in one of the corners, talking.

Because Felicity was a genius, less than twenty minutes later her computer dinged with new info.

"What is it?" Oliver asked, coming up from behind her.

"The number of the key, it's registered to this building on Jackson Street in the Glades." Felicity said pointing to the address.

Oliver nodded and grabbed his bow. Felicity stood and got in his way.

"You can't go out like. Gold almost killed you." Felicity pleaded, but Oliver was having none of it.

"I have to end this Felicity. I'm coming back."

"Good." Felicity said determinedly. "Because I can't do this without you."

Felicity settled a hand on her stomach, and Oliver covered hers with his. For a tense moment they kept eye contact, saying everything they needed to without words.

Oliver sighed and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving. Felicity watched him go.

Driving on his motorcycle to the building, Oliver thought about what Dig had told him. His ghosts were trying to tell him something and he needed to figure it out.

So far the common theme was Oliver's tendency to push people away. Obviously that was about his strained relationship with Felicity. Shado's advice was for him to stop running, but Slade's speech told him he didn't deserve Felicity, that he wasn't a hero. Oliver was inclined to agree.

Oliver was a murderer.

Slowly he entered the building and made his way to the top floor where he saw a collection of medical devices. Peeking through the curtains surrounding it, Oliver didn't see anyone, but when he stepped closer, he saw the truth.

Roy was strapped in, struggling against his binds. Oliver rushed to his side.

"I knew you'd come." Roy weakly said. Before Oliver could respond, a man in a skull mask and Gold entered the room.

Gold went straight to Oliver. He tried to fight, but Oliver was outmatched. Meanwhile Skull Mask pushed a button, turning the machines on.

Roy screamed.

Oliver was busy fighting Gold, but he saw the second Roy went limp. Gold pushed him to the ground, and Oliver stayed down.

"Another failure." Skull Mask growled out. Oliver slumped to the ground defeated.

"Get up." A voice said from above him. Oliver looked up and saw Tommy standing in front of him. "You're not going to die here. You have a kid to raise."

"I'm sorry Tommy, I let you die." Oliver gasped out. Tommy fondly shook his head.

"You didn't let me die. You fought and saved hundreds of lives." Tommy fiercely said. "You're not a murderer Ollie. You're a hero."

Oliver felt Tommy's words in his soul. Tommy helped him stand.

"You need to fight Oliver. Fight to live, and then get what you deserve."

Oliver was on his by this time, and he turned around just as Gold came for him.

This time the fight was more evenly matched. Slowly Oliver started winning. With one arrow, Oliver was able to shoot an electrical outlet. It exploded, taking out Gold and part of the ceiling.

Oliver went straight to Roy and started giving him CPR

"Come on. If I deserve a happy ending, so do you." Oliver gasped. "Fight!"

Roy gasped out, and Oliver sighed in relief.

The drive back to the mansion to drop Roy off was quick. Soon Oliver was on his way back to the foundry.

Tommy's ghost gave him more to think about. Maybe Oliver wasn't a murderer. He knew he certainly wasn't fixed, but Oliver felt like he could get happiness. Starting with Felicity.

It was time to get out of his own way.

When Oliver got back to the foundry, Dig was the only one there.

"Where is everyone?" Oliver happily asked, changing into his street clothes. Dig took a deep breath.

"Barry had to go back to Central City." Dig was now standing right in front of him. "I waited for you to get back so I could tell you that Felicity fainted. She's in the hospital."

Oliver felt his blood freeze.

"You need to cut all the stress from your life Ms. Smoak." Dr. Rhodes told Felicity. Ha. Good luck with that.

"Thank you, Dr. Rhodes." Moria said from her side with Thea next to her. The man smiled at her before exiting the room.

"It's a good thing Mr. Diggle was with you when you fainted." Thea happily said. Felicity smiled.

"I'm sorry he called you."

"Nonsense. You're part of the family now." Moria smiled and patted her hand.

Just then Oliver rushed into the room. Moria quietly ushered Thea out, leaving them alone.

"Are you ok? The baby?" Oliver said, panicked. Felicity laughed and nodded.


	10. Blast Radius

Doctor offices always made Felicity nervous. Her aversion to needles wasn't allowed in doctor offices. The appointments since she had found out she was pregnant were nerve-wracking, but Felicity was slowly feeling better about them.

This appointment was different though. She was twenty-two weeks today, and this was the first appointment Oliver was going to be at.

The two were sitting in the waiting room, not talking to each other. Oliver was reading his pregnancy book. And boy was that still startling to Felicity.

Felicity and Oliver's relationship in the past five weeks had slowly moved to something more. Oliver had completely thrown himself into her pregnancy which included books and coming to her appointments.

Oliver hadn't brought up the conversation where he declared his love, and Felicity's following rejection but things between them were still different.

"Thea wants to meet me at the club, right after the appointment." Felicity informed Oliver who then set the book down. "She wants my help with Sebastian's rally."

"Don't know how much help you'll be." Oliver chuckled, before Felicity elbowed him in the side. "That sounds good. I want to get some Skull Mask hunting in before the rally."

"Ms. Smoak?" A nurse called.

Felicity smiled and stood up. Oliver took a small calming breath before joining her. Together they followed the nurse to an exam room.

"The doctor will be right with you." The nurse told them before leaving. Felicity sat down on the table and Oliver awkwardly sat on a chair next to her. Several seconds passed.

"Any news about Barry?" Oliver asked, breaking the tension.

Felicity winced. She wished he wouldn't ask about things that obviously made him uncomfortable.

"Catlin and Cisco say there's been no change since I was there two weeks ago." Felicity sighed and rubbed her tummy, her new comforting gesture. Oliver placed a hand over hers.

"I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

Felicity wasn't so sure.

At that moment, Dr. Newman entered the room.

"How's everything going today?" She asked. Felicity smiled at the older woman.

"It's been good." She replied. Dr. Newman smiled and turned to Oliver.

"I see we have a guest joining us today."

"Hi. I'm Oliver Queen, the father." Oliver said standing up and offering his hand. Dr. Newman shook his hand before turning back to Felicity.

"Alright let's have a look."

"Who's the man in the Skull mask?" Oliver growled out to the man dangling in front of him in the air.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen a man in a skull mask." The low level thug pleaded. Oliver sighed in frustration, and with one blow knocked the man unconscious.

"Call Lance and tell him I left one for him."

"Will do." Dig said over the comms.

Oliver made his way to his bike and then started his trek back to the foundry.

He wouldn't admit it, but the longer it took to find the man in the Skull Mask the more Oliver felt like something bad was going to happen.

Things with Felicity were strained and frankly confusing, since he was so sure that she would tell him she loved him back. Her rejection hurt, but Oliver was nothing if not stubborn, and he was planning on seeing this through. He could wait and be there for Felicity until she realized he wasn't going anywhere.

Once in the foundry, Oliver set his bow in the stand and rubbed his hands over his face.

"If anyone knows where the Skull mask is, they aren't talking." Dig said from in front of Felicity's computers. Oliver walked over to his friend.

"I'll just have to find someone who does."

Dig smiles as Oliver goes to change. Once Oliver comes back in his suit for the rally, Dig turns towards him.

"I didn't get to ask you before. How'd the ultrasound go?"

"Good." Oliver said with a small smile. "The doctor said everything looked good with Felicity's stress levels."

"That's good. How are you holding up?" Dig asked, all too knowing. Oliver gave him a look.

"I've got everything I could need to make me happy, yet…"

"You're worried Felicity won't forgive you?" Dig raises his eyebrows. Oliver slowly nods. "Felicity loves you man. You just gotta be patient."

Dig's advice and silent approval was much appreciated. Their team was just the three of them and adding a baby will change it. If him and Felicity get into a relationship, the team's dynamic would change even more.

Oliver thanked Dig before going up to the rally which was just starting up. He was introducing Sebastian but was distracted through the whole thing. It wasn't until he left the stage and Thea joined him on the sidelines did he snap out of it.

"Nice speech." Thea joked. "I didn't know you were a fan of politics."

"Well, Sebastian is a friend." Oliver smiled. "Speaking of, how's Roy?"

"He's fine," Thea answered with narrowed eyes, "just like he was yesterday when you asked."

"I just want to make sure there's no lasting damage from the arrow." Oliver informed her. Sebastian finished his speech, and the siblings join in on the applause.

The two went off to the side, each grabbing a drink.

"Speaking of love lives. How's yours?" Thea asked with a raised eyebrow. That was the annoying sister that Oliver knew and loved. "Because I spent the afternoon with Felicity, and I gotta say Bro she'd be a perfect sister-in-law."

Oliver gave her an exasperated look.

"Me and Felicity's relationship is complicated." Thea rolled her eyes.

"She's the mother of your unborn child. How much more complicated could it get?"

Oh if she only knew.

"What's this about Felicity?" Moria asked, walking up to the two.

"Just wondering when Oliver's going to make an honest woman out of her." Thea teased. Oliver groaned.

"Yes well, Thea. Why don't you go and make sure she's not straining herself." Moria suggested.

Thea nodded and winked at Oliver before disappearing into the crowd. Oliver wished she'd take him with her. He wasn't looking forward to whatever lecture his mother was about to give.

"I'm very proud of your sister, taking this club of yours to the next level." Moria said, looking after the girl in question. Oliver couldn't have agreed more. His mother turned to look at him. "I'm also quite proud of you Oliver."

Moria pulled a stunned Oliver into a hug before following Thea. Before Oliver could get a bearing, Sebastian and Laurel made their way over to him.

"Oliver, thank you for the kind words." Sebastian said patting him on the back.

"Only speaking the truth." Oliver replied.

"Excuse me, an old friend just walked in." Sebastian said before quickly leaving. Oliver smiled at Laurel who smiled back before they hugged.

"How are you?" Oliver asked.

"Good." Laurel said. "What about you? How's Felicity and the baby?"

"Everything's good. She misses you." Oliver informed her. Laurel's smile dropped, and she looked to the ground for a few seconds before meeting Oliver's eyes again.

"She's an amazing woman, Oliver. And the both oy you deserve happiness. Felicity's helped me a lot. I'm happy for you two."

"I'm glad. We never wanted to hurt you." Oliver said, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing before dropping it. "But it doesn't really matter anyways. Felicity doesn't want to be with me."

"I know Felicity. She'll come around." Laurel said with a small smile.

"You know you deserve happiness too." Oliver raised his eyebrows. "Maybe with Sebastian?"

"I don't know. Sometimes it feels like I don't know the real him." Laurel admitted.

Before Oliver could respond, a throat was cleared to the side of them. Both turned to see Felicity standing looking uncomfortable.

"Felicity, hi." Laurel breathed out. Felicity gave her a small smile in return before turning back to Oliver.

"I need to talk to you." Felicity said before turning on her heel and making her way to the door to the foundry.

Oliver quickly followed hoping Felicity wasn't going to yell at him. In the foundry, Dig was waiting.

"Someone set off a bomb." Dig informed him before Oliver went into action.

Never a quiet night in Starling City.

Felicity's back ached. The bomb that went off last night kept her up way past her bedtime. Plus the baby had decided that kicking her spleen was the best way to spend the night.

During work, Dig had showed her the bomber's manifesto. Seemed he had a problem with the government. Now she and Diggle were waiting for Oliver to collect the specs for Detective Lance. Felicity could tell Dig had something to say.

"How are you holding up?" He asked from her side. Felicity smiled at his concern.

"I'm good. I'm officially past the halfway mark." Felicity answered, fidgeting with the computer settings. Dig gave her a skeptical look.

"What about you and Oliver?" Felicity sighed.

"I'm just trying to protect my heart Dig. I have to think for two now." Over the comms, Felicity could hear the low hum of Oliver and Detective Lance's conversation.

"I get that more than anyone Felicity. I do. But I also don't think Oliver is someone you have to protect yourself from."

Dig's advice made Felicity think. Did she really believe Oliver would leave like her father? Or was she just scared?

Before she could think of an answer, a flurry of alerts came across her computer and Oliver called her name over the comms. There had been another bombing.

"Felicity give me an address." Oliver growled out. Felicity furiously typed on her computer.

"It was the municipal building." Dig answered for her.

"I can do one better. I found the frequency that set off the bomb, and it's moving."

"Give me an intersection."

Felicity pulled up traffic cameras and rattled off the next intersection that Oliver could find the bomber.

After a few minutes with only hearing Oliver's bike, his voice rang out.

"I see him."

Sounds of traffic flowed through the earpiece as Felicity gave Oliver directions. A few small explosions went off, scaring Felicity before Oliver came over the comms again.

"I lost him."

The signal cut out for a second before coming back.

"Bank left on Gerrard Street. He should be right there." A few seconds went by before a squealing noise came over the comms and Oliver spoke.

"He's not here." Oliver growled out, frustrated. Felicity blinked in surprise. "I lost him."

"I swear it says he's right there." Felicity insisted. Oliver sighed.

"I'm on my way back." Oliver said before turning his comms off.

Dig sighed and gave her a sympathetic smile. Felicity sat and waited for Oliver to return. An hour later when he did finally return, he had on different clothes and Dig had already left.

"Where did you go?" Felicity questioned. Oliver set his bag with his bow and suit down and turned to face her with a warm smile.

"I just needed to blow off some steam." Oliver said surprisingly gentle. Felicity sputtered, confused.

"Well… I'm sorry I sent you the wrong way." Felicity told him slowly. Oliver jaw clenched and his whole body stiffened.

"It's fine. We all have bad days." Oliver said through gritted teeth.

It was obviously not fine.

"I don't think its fine and going by your body language, you don't either." Felicity said with a raised eyebrow. "So you must just be saying that because…"

Felicity trailed off, hoping Oliver would reveal himself, and her wish was granted when Oliver's eyes flickered to her stomach.

"Because of the baby?" Felicity accused. "I knew you were treated me differently."

"Felicity, you're pregnant. Of course I'm going to treat you different." Oliver said defensibly with his hands in the air like she was going to hit him. Maybe she was.

"No this isn't just because of that. Before Christmas when you knew you still treated me like an equal." Felicity crossed her arms. "This is because of your love confession."

Oliver sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. Felicity couldn't believe his nerve.

"You're acting on your best behavior and treating me like some delicate flower! Stop it!" Felicity yelled and stomped her foot.

"Felicity. I don't what you want from me."

"The truth!"

"Yes. I'm angry at you. I can't believe you sent me the wrong way." Oliver growled out. "But it doesn't matter because I love you. I want to be with you. I'm treating you differently because our relationship has changed!"

"It's the same as it was before, and it's never going to change. So stop acting like a child who hasn't gotten his way and deal with it!"

Felicity yelled at him. She gave him her best die-in-a-well glare and stomped out of the foundry.

Inside she was fuming.

Oliver had the audacity to whine to her about her rejection when less than two months ago he was doing the same thing. Did she bitch about it? No!

Plus if he was trying to get her to agree to a relationship, changing the dynamic of their friendship wasn't a great start.

Felicity's anger fed her energy and heartburn into the next day while she and Diggle worked in the foundry. She ignored Oliver's entrance, and he wisely did the same.

"Don't you think this Unity Rally is a bad idea when an antigovernment bomber is on the loose?" Dig asked.

Ah yes. Sebastian had announced a rally for this afternoon to bring 'unity' to the community. Felicity had to agree with Diggle.

"I tried to get him to back down." Oliver answered. The both of them were standing behind her, watching the news report.

"He's as stubborn as you are on fighting back." Dig joked.

"Or everything." Felicity mumbled.

The air was tense. Felicity could tell neither Dig nor Oliver knew what to say.

"Let's just head to the rally." Oliver suggested. Felicity computer pinged.

"You might not have to." She answered. "The bomb spec are identical as the ones from the antigovernment group called 'The Movement'."

Felicity pulled up their webpage.

"They have a very active message board, and one of the IP address is in Starling."

"Good. Dig you go to the Rally, and I'll go to the address. Talk me in Felicity."

Oliver followed Dig down the foundry stairs. The night had ended on a good note. The bomber was in police custody and no one was hurt besides a stray bullet that had went through Dig.

Felicity was ready with the medical kit as soon as they got there. As Oliver watched Felicity patch Dig up, he couldn't help but think of what Detective Lance had told The Hood.

The older man had told him that Oliver Queen was stringing Felicity along, and The Hood should watch over her a little closer.

Obviously Felicity was keeping in touch with the Detective outside their night job, which Oliver was surprised that Felicity hadn't told him about. Did Felicity really think he was just stringing her along?

Everyone had told him to just wait and silently prove himself, but it's been five weeks and the only development was that Felicity yelled at him more. Maybe this wasn't something he could expect to work out over time. Maybe he needed to talk to her.

Felicity had finished her work with Dig who made quick goodbyes before leaving. Felicity ignored him as she started to pack up her stuff.

"Felicity." Oliver quietly said. She turned to face him with a blank look. "I'm sorry."

She sighed and stepped closer.

"No. I'm sorry Oliver." Felicity said. "I know this whole thing with Mirakuru has got you spooked, and I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"You were right though." Oliver disagreed. "I have been treating you differently."

Oliver smiled and grabbed her hands, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"I think we should revisit our discussion about our relationship." Oliver suggested. Before Felicity could protest, Oliver continued. "We love each other, and I think we owe it to ourselves to give it a shot."

Several seconds pass while Felicity just stares at their joined hands. Oliver couldn't breathe from the excitement. He just wanted to start their happily ever after.

"I don't" Felicity whispered with a teary voice. She looked up to him with tears in her eyes.

"Don't what?" Oliver asked, confused.

"I don't love you." Felicity shakenly said.

She pulled her hands from his and rushed out of the foundry. Oliver watched her leave, not sure about what had just happened.

She didn't love him?

Felicity didn't love him.


	11. Chapter 11

Felicity graduated MIT at 19. She could hack and get info from any machine available to her. Some people would call her a genius.

So how could she be so stupid?

She and Oliver had made a promise after the baby bomb dropped that there would be no more lying. And yet Felicity had did it again, lied to Oliver.

As Felicity paced her bedroom, she started to go over the entire ordeal.

She told Oliver she didn't love him when that couldn't have been further from the truth. What was she thinking? She had thought maybe it was time for them to finally talk about getting into a relationship, but in that instant Felicity had been terrified.

So she ran.

Needing advice, Felicity slumped onto her bed before grabbing her phone and dialing her mother's number. Felicity anxiously tapped her fingers against her legs as the phone rang.

"Felicity?" Her mother said concerned.

Felicity would blame what happened next on a mixture of her hormones and hearing her mother's comforting voice.

She burst into tears.

"Honey? What's wrong?" Felicity tried to speak but her sobs prevented words from leaving her mouth. "That's it. I'm booking a flight right now. Don't you worry honey, your mom's on her way."

"Mom wait. You don't have to do that." Felicity said, finding her voice to prevent her mother from flying to Starling. "I'm fine. It's just hormones, you know."

Donna was silent on the other end, and Felicity prayed she believed her.

"If you're sure?" Donna slowly let out.

"Yes I just needed your advice." Felicity wiped her eyes. "Me and Oliver had a fight. He told me he loved me."

"Honey what's the matter? You told me two weeks ago that you thought it was time for you two to get in a relationship."

"I lied to him, mom. I told him I didn't love him." Felicity cried. Over the line, Donna made a cooing noise.

"Oh sugar, why did you do that?"

"I just panicked."

The line was silent for a few moments as she tried to collect herself.

"Honey." Donna broke the silence. "Oliver isn't your father."

Felicity let out her breath.

"Oliver isn't going to leave you. He loves you, even I can tell and I haven't even met him. Loving him is scary I know, but I guarantee it will be worth it."

Felicity was surprised. She hadn't heard this side of her mother since before her father left. It reminded her of how much she missed her mother.

"I love you mom." Felicity whispered, lying down on her bed.

"I love you too sweetie."

Before Felicity fell asleep and after ending their conversation, she hoped that she'd be just half of the mom that hers was.

"Ask what color his shoes are." Felicity told Oliver while clacking away on her computer.

"What?" Oliver growled.

Another day, another night of skull mask hunting.

It had been a week since Felicity's lie, and things had gotten tense. Somehow Oliver had become closer and farther away at the same time. She knew it was her fault, but it still hurt. Not just enough to tell Oliver the truth.

"You want this guy to take a polygraph test over Bluetooth fine. But I'm gonna need a baseline."

Oliver sighed over the line before repeating her question. She tried to hide her giggle.

"Blue." The low-level thug answered.

"He's telling the truth."

Felicity heard a shuffle and there was a few minutes of silence.

"I'm on my way back." Oliver sighed before turning his comms off.

When Oliver entered the foundry 15 minutes later, Felicity wasn't sure what to say to him. He dropped his bow on the table and rubbed a hand over his face.

Oliver turned away from her, visibly frustrated.

"We're going to catch him Oliver. We just have to be patient." Felicity said, standing up with one hand on her stomach and the other on her back. Oliver's back tensed.

"I just don't know any more Felicity."

He sounded so dejected that Felicity grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug.

Oliver held on to Felicity for a long while. Until suddenly the baby kicked hard making Felicity gasp in discomfort and surprise. She rubbed a hand down her tummy, hoping to calm her or him.

She looked up as Oliver gently placed his hands over her own. His face had a look of awe.

"Oliver?" Felicity quietly questioned, not wanting to break their bubble. Oliver's eyes stayed fixed on her tummy.

"Wow." He said in a sort of trance. Felicity intertwined their fingers and squeezed. This seemed to do the trick. Oliver's eyes snapped to her, and before she could blink, Oliver was stepping away.

"Are you good to get home?" Oliver rushed out. Felicity nodded, confused. Oliver rushed to the bathroom to change.

Felicity slowly gathered up her stuff, a little hurt. But she had no to blame but herself.

Oliver had no one to blame but himself. He pushed Felicity so hard she lashed out. Their current stilted friendship was entirely his fault, that's why he was trying to give her space.

As Oliver drove to Verdant, he wondered why Felicity had lied about loving him.

Of course, he knew she was lying. Once Oliver had a moment to calm down, he was able to look at their conversation and figure out that Felicity was lying. He just couldn't figure out why.

He could see Roy taking the trash out as he walked up. Oliver figured he could try to problem in his life.

"Roy!" He called out, startling his sister's boyfriend. Roy turned with a nervous look. "How's it going?"

"Fine…" Roy slowly said as he let the trash lid down. Oliver clapped a hand on his back and smiled when the boy jumped.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my mother's and Thea's lives last week."

"It was no big deal." Roy rubbed the back of his neck. "I should probably get back to work."

Oliver watched through narrow eyes as Roy went back into the club. He was worried about him.

Apparently so was Felicity as she practically tackled him when he entered the foundry.

"How's Roy?"

"Closed off." Oliver gritted out. Felicity sighed and sat back in her chair, just as his Arrow phone pinged.

"It's Detective Lance." Felicity said as she handed it to him.

"What do you need, Detective?"

"Laurel would like to set up a meeting."

Oliver sure wasn't expecting that.

Felicity wasn't jealous. That would be ridiculous. Oliver and Laurel had been over for a long time. Plus Laurel was meeting with the Arrow, not Oliver.

Even if none of that was true, Felicity still shouldn't have been jealous. She was the one who pushed Oliver away, and she wasn't planning on that changing anytime soon.

Laurel was just so gorgeous, and at 23 weeks, Felicity felt like a house. Oliver's history with her didn't help.

"I believe Sebastian Blood is the man in the skull mask." Laurel furiously said from over the comms.

This conversation seemed strained. Felicity could practically feel Oliver's anger.

"I gave you everything I know. Please just look into it. My father believes in you, and I want to too."

Felicity held her breath as Oliver left the rooftop. After a few quiet minutes, Felicity decided to break the silence.

"Oliver—"

"Go home Felicity. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he was gone.

Fuming, Felicity packed up her stuff. Dismissed twice in the same amount of days. Don't know who he thinks he is.

The next day in the conference room of Queen Consolidated Felicity glared over her tablet at Oliver. Either he was extremely oblivious or his acting skills had improved.

"What have you gotten so far?" Oliver asked impatiently. Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Everything Laurel said was true. Parents are both dead, and he grew up in an orphanage with Cyrus Gold." Felicity sighed.

"That doesn't mean he's the man in the skull mask." Dig argued.

"They've stayed buddies according to Blood's phone records." Felicity shot back. Dig turned to Oliver.

"What do you think man?" Oliver looked up at him. "It seems more like a setup for you. Can we believe Laurel?"

Felicity may be at odds with the woman, but in the end they were still friends. She began to protest, but Oliver beat her to it.

"I believe she believes it." Oliver admitted before handing Felicity the case. "Start with Blood's father. I want to know more."

"Don't forget your meeting Isabel." Felicity spit out. Oliver paled as Felicity turned to exit.

Damn him for believing Laurel and damn her irrational hormones.

Felicity's walk was much slower these days so by the time she reached her desk, Oliver had already left and Dig was by her side.

She slowly started to get her hands on the file. First the crick in her neck was going to have to be attended to.

"Hey. You ok?" Dig delicately asked. Felicity gave him a small smile and a nod. He didn't seem convinced. "I know things have been tense for a couple weeks. What's going on between you two?"

Felicity bit her lip and kept hacking.

"Felicity?"

She let out a groan and her head fell into her hands.

"I so don't want to talk about it right now Dig." She sighed.

"Whatever happened you need to fix it." He said putting a hand on her stomach. "If not for you guys, then for this little guy."

"I'm so scared." Felicity whispered. Before Dig could respond, Felicity's computer dinged.

"What." Felicity let out a growl of frustration just as Oliver exited the elevator and made his way to them.

"What's going on?" He asked. Felicity threw up her hands.

"The file is sealed, plus it's so old there's no digital." Felicity banged her hands on her keyboard.

"So we'll do it manually." Oliver decided. Felicity raised her eyebrow.

"It's key card access, and even if you got in there, you wouldn't know where to look."

"An assistant D.A. would." Oliver said before going into his office. Felicity clenched her jaw. Right, of course, Laurel. Can't forget about her.

Oliver wasn't a fan of this plan, but he didn't see any other way to get the case so here he and Laurel were silently walking the halls.

"Assistant D.A. breaking and entering. That's just great." Laurel whispered sarcastically.

"This is your case Ms. Lance." Oliver said in his Arrow voice. "It needs to be done."

With that, they had reached the door.

"Open sesame." Felicity said over his comms to his amusement. The door unlocked. "You have five minutes max."

"Ms. Lance." Oliver gestured into the room. Laurel quickly found the box, but apparently not fast enough as four armed guards came through the doors.

"Hurry." Oliver said before engaging in a shootout, arrows vs. guns.

Oliver could see Laurel ruffling through the files before pulling one out.

"This is it." Laurel said before opening it. "It's empty."

Oliver didn't have time to comprehend as the guards were advancing. He turned and broke the window with an arrow before grabbing Laurel and jumping.

After Laurel was safely dropped off at her apartment, Oliver went to the foundry and changed.

"If that case suggests it was Blood, it makes sense that it's gone." Felicity offered. Dig shot him a look.

"Come on man. This is your friend. Doesn't he deserve the benefit of the doubt?"

Oliver sighed.

"Please keep looking into him Felicity. And call Laurel. I'm worried about her." Felicity gave him a dark look before nodding and returning to her computer. "I'm going to talk to Blood." Oliver exited the foundry.

His mission was derailed as he saw Thea at the bar with her head in her hands.

"Speedy?" Thea jumped and turned to glare at Oliver.

"Ollie." She acknowledged. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd say hi. What's up with you?"

Thea shrugged as Oliver sat down next to her.

"It's just…Roy." Oliver's eyebrows shot up. "He put a guy in the hospital."

Damn it. While Oliver was busy trying to help Laurel, Roy had snapped. He should have been there.

"I'm sorry, Speedy." Oliver said before pulling her in for a hug. The siblings embraced for a few moments before Thea pulled away.

"Enough about my relationship, how's my niece or nephew?" Oliver laughed.

"He or she is good." Oliver answered. Thea raised her eyebrow.

"And Felicity?" She innocently asked.

"Speedy…" He warned. Thea put her hands up in surrender.

"Fine. Fine. Don't tell me. I have to get back to work anyways." Thea stood and placed a kiss on Oliver's cheek before leaving.

Just what Oliver needs, another person meddling in his life.

When Felicity walked into the coffee shop a couple blocks from Laurel's apartment, she was nervous. Her conversation with Laurel on the phone was strained, and Felicity wasn't looking forward to a repeat.

She wasn't sure Laurel was ok with her having Oliver's baby, and frankly Felicity was still a little worried that Oliver was going to run back to her.

Turns out Felicity's nerves were for nothing. When she sat down next to Laurel with her decaf tea, the lawyer went straight into conversation about the baby. Sure it got awkward a couple times, but it mostly worked out.

Which made Felicity feel bad for being worried about the woman and Oliver. How silly.

"How's AA going?" Felicity asked about fifteen minutes into their conversation. Laurel sighed and looked down.

"It's been tough. Mostly because…" Laurel trailed off and then took a deep breath. "I believe Sebastian Blood is the man in the skull mask."

Felicity blinked, taken aback. She knew Laurel's suspicions already, but she was shocked Laurel would trust her with this information. She felt honored and terrible at the same time.

"Are you sure Laurel? That's a pretty big accusation." Felicity rubbed her tummy to calm her nerves. Laurel placed her hands over Felicity's.

"I'm working on proof, but until then you have to be careful." She insisted. God Felicity was a crappy friend.

"Of course." Laurel pulled her in for a hug.

If her and Laurel could reconcile, maybe there wasn't anything going on between her and Oliver.

Felicity was deep in thought when Oliver's hand came down on her shoulder. Though instead of jumping, Felicity relaxed into his touch. Oliver kneeled at her side, and she turned to face him.

"How did your talk with Blood go?" She quietly asked as Oliver intertwined their fingers.

"Good. I'm just finding it hard to believe that it's actually him." Oliver let out a breath. He pulled their joined hands over her bump. Felicity hummed in agreement. "How'd your meeting with Laurel go?"

"Good. We talked a lot. Really got our friendship back on track. Which makes me feel bad." This was the problem. Felicity's filter had a faulty switch, especially when she's pregnant and tired.

Oliver looked at her confused.

"Why would you feel bad?"

She recognized the look in Oliver's eyes. The only way out of this was the truth…but maybe that wasn't a bad thing.

"Earlier, when you two were speaking and during the heist…it just brought up some insecurities that I thought were out to rest."

Felicity stole her hand back and began to play with her fingers. Oliver gave her a concerned look.

"Insecure about what?"

"You two. And how maybe you're going to wake up one day and realize you love her." Felicity whispered through tears.

"Hey, look at me." Oliver said gently. When she did, he put his hand on her cheek. "Does this have anything to do with our talk after the bomber?"

Felicity shrugged, trying to avoid his eyes. Oliver stood up and placed a kiss on her forehead before looking into her eyes.

"I'm in love with you Felicity. Not just because of the baby but because of you. You light my way, and I want that forever. Laurel doesn't compare. Ok?"

She nodded before Oliver pulled her in for a hug.

Which was exactly when Felicity's phone dinged. They pulled away from each other. She checked her phone while Oliver stepped away. He quickly returned when Felicity gasped his name.

"Laurel's been arrested."

As the trio entered Laurel's apartment, they were silent. Oliver swiftly lead Felicity to one of Laurel's kitchen chairs before he started picking things up.

"I'm not doing drugs." Laurel finally broke the silence. Felicity wasn't sure if it was directed towards her or Oliver but he was the one that answered.

"Really Laurel? Because they found them in your apartment." Oliver didn't look at her. Laurel turned towards her.

"You believe me, right Felicity?" She pleaded. Felicity winced.

"Laurel, earlier you said things had been tough…"

"Not tough enough to take drugs." Laurel begged. Oliver stood and faced her.

"It's been a long day. I'm taking Felicity home. You can talk to her tomorrow."

Oliver turned and came towards her. Suddenly Oliver was on the ground, and hands were pulling at her. Felicity screamed, hoping someone one would hear her.

Oliver gasped awake with Felicity's name on his lips. Finding the apartment empty, he quickly called Dig.

"Felicity and Laurel were taken. Meet me with my suit at Starling Cannery." Oliver declared before Dig could say anything and hung up before he could respond.

The note had told the Arrow to go to that place so it wasn't too hard to find Laurel and Felicity. Dig was on the other side of the room, readying to pounce.

"Let them go." Oliver growled. The man in the skull mask whipped around. He had Laurel in his arms and a gun in his hands. Felicity was tied up a few feet away with a thug guarding her.

"Not a chance." The Skull Mask retorted. A shootout began. Oliver tried his best to distract him so Dig could get to Felicity.

During the fight, Oliver noticed Dig was fighting the man in front of Felicity. Skull Mask used his distraction to get the upper hand. Oliver started losing.

Until two gunshots rang out.

Skull mask and his henchman dropped to the ground, dead. Oliver looked up to see Laurel with the gun.

She slowly walked over to the masked man and unveiled him. Oliver watched as it was revealed to be Adam Dally, Laurel's arresting Officer.

"No. It can't be." Laurel gasped.

"Ouch."

Both Oliver and Laurel swiveled their heads towards Dig and Felicity where Dig was untying her. Oliver strode over while Felicity rubbed her wrists.

"Are you ok?" Oliver tenderly asked, not noticing Laurel a few feet away. Felicity nodded, before the sound of sirens interrupted them.

"Go." Felicity nodded to him and Dig.

"Felicity." He warned. She swatted him away.

"I'm fine, but you won't be if you don't leave." Felicity raised her eyebrow knowing she had won. Oliver gave a dejected sigh before he and Dig left.

Felicity was still rubbing her wrists half an hour later when Oliver entered the police station to get her. She wasn't sure why the skull mask man needed to tie her up so tight. After all she was pregnant. Maybe he had a thing for ropes.

Not an image she needed.

It took twenty minutes after Oliver arrived for them to be allowed to leave. It wasn't until after Oliver used his name multiple times, and mentioned his mother's close friendship with the Chief of Police that Felicity was able to leave.

Frankly she was exhausted. This whole growing a person thing was tough enough without the whole kidnapping deal. Felicity was ready to pass out.

Oliver brought her in and got her settled onto the couch before he slumped down next to her. Felicity couldn't help but rest her head on Oliver's shoulder.

"Did you talk to Laurel?" Oliver whispered. Felicity shook her head. Laurel had disappeared with some cops the second they had entered the station, and she hadn't seen her since.

Oliver began to rub her back, and Felicity felt like something was different. Maybe it was her exhaustion, but she didn't feel like lying anymore.

"Oliver?"

"Hmm." He hummed.

"I lied last week."

Oliver stiffened. He turned to face her.

"Felicity—"

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Oliver was going to say. He let out a sigh and went to open the door.

The last person Felicity expected to see was Laurel. She had a determined stance as looked between Felicity and Oliver.

"Laurel?" Felicity questioned. Her moving eyes landed on Oliver, and Laurel took a steadying breath.

"I know you're the Arrow."


	12. Tremors

Felicity couldn't take it anymore. She tapped her fingers on her desk as she waited for Oliver to finish a meeting.

It had been a week since Laurel had barged into her apartment and dropped the bomb that she knew Oliver's green secret. A fact that couldn't be discussed due to a rampant new gun dealer terrorizing the Glades.

Oliver was working overtime to catch the guy and train Roy at the same time. Felicity wasn't sure how he did it.

But the gun dealer had been caught last night so the second Oliver came back they were going to discuss what they were going to do about Laurel.

Oliver enters a few minutes later with Dig on his heels. Felicity struggles to stand up to get into her lecture which sort of threw off her mojo. Both of her boys waited patiently for her to stand.

"We need to talk about Laurel." Felicity declared. Oliver rolled his eyes and turned to go to his office. "Don't roll your eyes at me."

Oliver turned back to face her with a surprised smile. Felicity raised her eyebrow and put a hand on her hip.

"What?" She bit out.

"You sound like a mom." Oliver quietly said in awe. Felicity blinked.

Had she? Felicity was pretty good at lectures, but she had to be to deal with all the crap that Oliver tried to pull.

Like distracting her.

When Felicity came back from her train of thought, Oliver was sitting as his desk and Dig was watching the exchange from the couch.

"Oh no you don't. Don't think that you can say something unbelievably cute to distract me from the conversation." Felicity huffed, standing in front of Oliver who just sighed.

"Laurel doesn't have any proof or creditably. She lost her job. Plus, we have other things to worry about." Oliver angrily deflected.

"So you believe she's a drunk again?" Felicity widened her eyes.

"I didn't say that— "

"But you were thinking it. I know that look Oliver Queen. You don't believe her." Felicity was now standing directly next to him. She hovered above him, jabbing a finger into his chest as she spoke.

"Do you?" Oliver scoffed, rubbing at the spot where Felicity had been poking. "She's admitted to having a problem before, and they found drugs in her apartment."

"She's my friend. If she says she's sober then she is." She stated. Oliver sighed and harshly ran his fingers through his hair.

"Whether or not Laurel is high isn't the point. Everyone thinks she is which means no one will believe her if she does say something. That means we can focus on other problems, like Roy."

Last Felicity had heard, Roy's training had been going slowly but good.

"What's wrong with Roy?" Dig asked her own question.

"He's getting frustrated with his progress. I'm afraid he's going to snap with the mirakuru in his system."

"Maybe it's just stress. Tonight when you train him, try to talk to him." Felicity shrugged her shoulders unsure. Oliver looked deep in thought.

"Uh-oh." Dig broke the silence, pointing to the door. "Problem number one is back."

Felicity turned just in time to see Laure walking through the door, and she didn't look happy.

Uh-oh indeed.

"Laurel." Oliver said through a clenched jaw as he stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm tired of being ignored. You're going to let me be a part of your team." She stomped her foot. Felicity looked to see what Oliver was going to say.

"I don't know what you're talking about Laurel." Oliver calmly stated, walking to Laurel and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Is it possible you're…not in the right mind right now?"

Laurel angrily pushed his hand away.

"Fuck you Oliver. If you won't tell me, Felicity will."

All eyes were on Felicity, and she felt like a deer in the headlights.

What was she supposed to say? Laurel might go to the cops if she found out the truth. She couldn't lose Oliver and nether could the baby.

But Laurel was easily her best friend. She wouldn't be happy if she lied.

"Um… I think it's be best if you left Laurel." She quietly said. Laurel looked at her betrayed. Felicity tried to show how sorry she was with her eyes.

"Fine. I'll go but don't think this is over." Laurel stomped out the same way she had come.

Felicity was a terrible person. She had lost her best friend, all because Oliver was a stubborn control freak.

"Felicity—" Oliver started

"I'm meeting Thea in twenty minutes so I'll see you at the foundry tonight."

And without meeting his eyes, Felicity left.

"Thea?" Felicity called as she entered the Queen Mansion. It was still crazy to her that it was alright for her to just walk into the house.

And even now, the only reason she felt comfortable doing it was because she was almost certain Moria was gone.

Felicity and Thea's friendship had blossomed over the last couple months since Oliver had told his family about the baby. Thea had quickly become one of Felicity's closest friends.

On the other hand, Felicity's relationship with Moria still felt stilted. Secretly, Felicity felt like Moria hadn't quite come to terms with Felicity being the mother of her grandchildren.

Then again, Moria didn't seem really pleased with anything.

"I'm in here!" Thea called from what sounded like the living room.

When Felicity entered, Thea was lounging on the couch with some rom-com ready to play on the TV. Thea jumped to her feet whe she saw her.

"Hey how's my niece and sister-in-law?" She asked pulling Felicity into a hug. She smiled at the younger Queen.

"Your niece or nephew is good. My feet have swollen to twice their size though." Thea chuckled as they sat down on the couch. Felicity absently rubbed her hand over her belly.

"Ok. Enough chit-chat. Let's get this movie afternoon started."

Thea started the movie but as hard as Felicity tried, she couldn't concentrate.

Laurel's confession had put a halt on her and Oliver's conversation about whatever their relationship was. Oliver knew the truth about her feelings, and Felicity's insecurities about Laurel had been reassured by Oliver and her growing friendship with the woman.

So why weren't they together?

She needed to talk to Oliver. Just as soon as this thing with Laurel calmed down.

Was it possible that her and Oliver could actually have a chance at a real relationship? What would that even be like?

Oliver was already an attentive co-parent. Him as a boyfriend would surely be amazing. Her last trimester would definitely be easier to handle with him by her side.

Suddenly Thea's hand was waving in front of her face, startling her. To Felicity's surprise, the movie seemed to be almost over. When Felicity turned, Thea had a raised eyebrow.

"I've been saying your name for like five minutes. What's on your mind?"

Felicity blushed. Did she really want to tell Thea about this? Oliver was her brother, but Thea did always call her her sister-in-law.

"Um…Your brother?" Felicity answered unsure. Thea muted the movie just as the male lead ran to stop the female lead from getting on a plane. "Your brother is amazing, but with a baby on the way everything is just super complicated."

"I get that" Thea nodded. "You love him, but you're worried about the baby."

Felicity knew in her heart that telling Thea was a good idea. She nodded her head and sighed. Thea scooted down on the couch till the two of them were cuddled together.

"How are things with Roy?" Felicity asked, laying her feet on the coffee table. Thea hummed and followed her lead.

"He seems to be acting better, but… he's just been so distant lately. I'm scared I'm going to lose him."

"Oh Thea, I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Roy is probably just working through stuff. He'll come around." At least Felicity hoped. She didn't think Oliver could take much more training sessions if he didn't.

The silence stretched on for a few minutes as Thea and Felicity basked in it.

Moria walking into the room seemed to break the comfort and slightly startling Felicity.

"Hello girls." She said with a genuine smile. Moria was dressed up very nice…like she was on her way to a date.

"Mom. You look hot. Do you have a date or something?" Thea exclaimed. Felicity nodded her agreement. And then Moria did something Felicity wasn't sure she was capable of. She blushed.

"If you must know, Walter and I are meeting for dinner." Moria announced, smoothing down her dress. _Huh. Good for Moria_.

"That's awesome Mom." Thea joyfully said. Moria smiled.

"Yes, well. I have to be going if I don't want to be late." And with that Moria gracefully left the room. Felicity looked down as her phone chimed. It was Oliver, asking if she was on her way.

Shit. Time had gotten away from her, and she was late to meet up with him and Dig. Before she could text him back, Oliver texted her again. This time just her name followed by like ten question marks.

A sigh escaped Felicity. That man. She quickly replied that she leaving at that moment. Felicity slowly moved into a sitting position. Thea looked up at her questioning.

"Unfortunatly, I promised your brother I would go see him to…talk about some baby stuff."

"Yeah. _Talk._ " Thea winked at her before standing. Felicity went to join her but it seemed the two hours of sitting had shifted her balance a little too much and made it impossible to stand without help. Thea laughed and helped her.

Stupid pregnancy.

Oliver fought the urge to check Felicity's GPS signal. It had been 22 minutes since she had told him she was leaving his house, and she hadn't made it to the foundry yet.

From experience, Oliver knew that it took 15 minutes to get to the foundry from his house, even with traffic it only took 20.

So where was she?

The rational side of Oliver told him that Felicity was fine and wouldn't appreciated her privacy being broken.

The louder irrational side said she was kidnapped or in labor on the side of the road. Checking her GPS would at least give him a chance at calming his nerves (or starting a recuse mission).

Just as Oliver went to pull up the tracker, the foundry door beeped open and the slow click-clack of Felicity's heels sounded through the basement. It was like music to his ears.

By the time Felicity had reached her computer station, Oliver was in the middle of the salmon ladder, trying to act like he hadn't just been panicking.

Dig rolled his eyes from where he had been watching all of the spectacle and cleaning his guns.

As usual, Felicity saw right through him.

"You can stop pretending you weren't pacing Oliver. My goodbye with Thea took a little long. She's worried about Roy too. Maybe you should— "

"What's wrong?" Oliver urgently asked, jumping down from the ladder and reaching Felicity's side in seconds. She was busy hacking.

"I took the liberty of keeping tabs on Starling Heights." This woman never ceased to surprise him. "Ben Turner, also known as The Bronze Tiger. A man you put away last year, just escaped. They're trying to keep it on the down low."

Felicity looked up at him with an expectant look. Oliver gave her a questioning look to which she replied with a huff of air.

"Either one of you care to share what's going on?" Dig asked, sounding annoyed. Felicity set her jaw and glared at Oliver.

"Oliver doesn't want to take the case." She stood from her chair and crossed to him. Oliver rubbed his forehead. He hated how Felicity knew just how to get under his skin.

"Felicity we were just talking about the problems I'm facing with Roy. Plus everything with Laurel."

"Which is your fault." Felicity bit out. Oliver winced, safe to say she was still mad.

"We'll let the police handle this one. We don't have time."

"Then make time." Felicity slammed her hand on the table before letting out a groan of frustration. Oliver waited and watched as she sat down at her desk before looking back at him.

"I'll think about it." Oliver tried to calm down the love of his life. And like that, Felicity switched moods and gave him a blinding smile.

"Good." She happily said and turned back to her computer.

Oliver did think about it. He thought about it through the night and into his training session with Roy the next day. Which wasn't going very well.

Currently Oliver was watching as Roy slowly punched his dummy. Just like yesterday, Roy was quickly becoming angry.

"This is stupid!" Roy yelled. Before Oliver could reply, Roy had punched the top of the dummy off, completely destroying it.

"Roy, you need to learn to control your strength." Oliver growled out. The other man scowled at him.

"What I need to be doing is protecting this city, on the streets." Oliver could tell Toy was becoming agitated and honestly that frightened him. The last time Oliver dueled with someone poisoned with mirakuru, it took all he had to kill him.

Roy's life couldn't end up like Slade's. Oliver refused to let it.

"Let me help you. Just one night." Roy seemed to calm down and was now just pleading. He gestured around the empty warehouse they were training in. "It would make all of this easier to take."

Oliver didn't know what to say to that. Could he trust Roy in the field? He wasn't sure, and he didn't know if he could take that chance.

If something happened to Roy or if he made something bad happen, Thea would be crushed and truthfully so would he. As hard as the past trainings had been, Oliver has started to feel a bond with the young man. Time spent with him reminded Oliver of the chance he would soon get with his own child.

But if Oliver failed Roy, it'd be like failing his own kid.

The voice in his head that sounded a lot like Felicity told him that was ridiculous. This situation was much different. Oliver tried to believe it.

Roy had just begun to calm down and clean up the mess from the dummy when Oliver's comm dinged.

"What is it?" He asked after turning it on. Dig's voice came on.

"Homicide victim. Police report says he had three _claw_ marks on his neck."

"The Bronze Tiger strikes again." Felicity interrupted, smugly. Oliver warningly hummed, not being able to say her name with Roy in the room.

"I don't think that this case is for us. I'm busy, and you need less stress." Oliver felt like pacing. What would it take for Felicity to leave it alone?

"That's not an option anymore. The victim was an architect, and Turner stole some plans of his." Felicity kept her smug tone. "The plans to the house of the mass murder we all know and love Malcom Merlyn."

Can't Oliver catch a break?

"Who are you talking to?" Roy asked from behind him. "Let me guess, you probably can't tell me that either."

Felicity kept rambling on in his ear.

"His holdings have all been taken. Not much to steal, but this isn't something we can really take a chance on." She pushed. Unfortunately, Felicity was right. But maybe Oliver could solve two of his problems at once.

"I'm on my way." Oliver replied before turning his comm off and then turning to face Roy who was looking like a kick puppy.

"Do you have one of your hoodies?" Oliver slowly asked. Roy immediately brightened up. He wasn't sure this was a good idea.

Twenty minutes later when the duo entered the Merlyn house, Oliver still wasn't sure.

"I don't want you to engage if we see anyone." Oliver began before turning when he heard a sheet move. "And don't touch anything."

Roy had pulled back a sheet that was covering a couple picture frames, all with Tommy in them.

Oliver felt a pain in his heart. To his shame, Oliver hadn't thought of his deceased best friend since the night before Christmas. He had accepted the hallucination Tommy's advice about Felicity and had been busy working on getting her that Oliver pushed away any feelings about the man. Seeing a reminder of his failure to save Tommy made him that much more resolved to save Roy.

"That was the guy who died right?" Roy asked, looking thoughtfully at the picture. Oliver made a slight noise meant to show agreement. He tried and failed to think of anything to say.

Both Roy and Oliver sharply turned when a clanging noise came from where Oliver remembered the garage to be.

"Sounds like it came from the garage. Let's go." Oliver ordered before they began their descent.

Oliver and Roy slowly entered the garage to see a handful of thugs with The Bronze Tiger as their leader. They surrounded a van that had its back open.

At that moment, Oliver's worst nightmare was becoming a reality. In the back of the van was a porotype earthquake machine. Oliver's blood ran cold.

"Step away." He demanded. "Do you have any clue what would happen if that thing gets in the wrong hands?"

"Yeah. I get paid." Turner smugly answered. He glared at Oliver while addressing his crew. "Close it up."

Oliver let out two arrows that Turner deflected. They began an all-out fist fight. The two of them were evenly matched. For every punch Oliver landed, Turner was ready with his own.

He could hear glass breaking and internally sighed. Roy hadn't listened to his request to stay out of it. Oliver didn't have time to about him though.

Turner used Oliver's momentary distraction to land a kick on his chest. Oliver flew to the ground, and by the time he was up, The Bronze Tiger had entered the van and started to drive away. Panicked, Oliver tried to shoot the van down, but to no luck. Finally, Oliver turned to Roy who was attacking on thug. The thug was on the brink of unconscious, and Oliver knew he had to put a stop to it before Roy did something he's regret.

"Roy." Oliver growled out, grabbing his arm to stop the next punch. "That's enough."

Roy blinked up at him like he was coming out of a stupor.

They both turned to see the taillights of the van driving quickly away. Oliver sighed and went to grab his discarded bow.

"What's the plan?" Roy asked, following him. Oliver knew this was a bad idea.

He harshly rounded on Roy, making the boy step back.

"You are going home, and tomorrow we'll be back in the warehouse training. That's the plan." He knew his voice was turning growly, but Oliver couldn't find it in himself to care. Roy stiffened.

"So we're just gonna ignore it?" He exclaimed. The duo began their journey back to where they stashed Oliver's bike and Roy's car.

"No. I'm going to fix it, and you're going to ignore it."

They walked silently to their transportation. Oliver could see Roy fuming from the corner of his eye. Once they reached the clearing, Oliver turned to Roy.

"Go home." With that, Oliver climbed on his bike and drove back to the foundry.

He couldn't think straight. Oliver was so terrified. This time was so much worse: he had so much more to lose. If that earthquake machine went off and something happened to Felicity and the baby, well Oliver didn't know what'd he do.

"Uh-oh. You got angry face." Felicity said when he returned. She turned around in her chair to face him. The sight of her alright released some tension in Oliver's shoulders.

"What happened?" Dig questioned from the side of the foundry.

"Roy Harper." Oliver admitted. Dig was taken aback.

"You took him out in the field?"

"He wasn't listening. I had to do something." Oliver growled frustrated. "But he almost killed someone, so I had to stop him."

"And Turner got away." Felicity stated sympathic. "With what?"

He slumped into the chair next to Felicity, and she placed a comforting hand on his back. Felicity began to rub it up and down. He looked up at Dig.

"He took a prototype earthquake machine."

Dig stepped back in surprise, and Felicity's hand momentarily stopped but quickly started again.

"Why would Turner want to destroy the city?" Dig whispered, stunned.

"He doesn't; he's just a mercenary." Oliver rubbed his face before grabbing the watch he had grabbed off the thug Roy had attacked. He handed it to Felicity. "This came from one of Turner's group."

"Fingerprints." Felicity said looking Oliver in the eyes. "I'm on it."

She turned back to her computers just as Dig walked up to him.

"What happened with Roy?" He asked.

"He had this look in his eyes." Oliver looked away in thought. "It was just like Slade."

Felicity stilled in her typing before turning to them. She placed a hand on his forearm. Oliver couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"What happened with Slade?" Dig insisted. Oliver knew this conversation was a long time coming.

"Someone killed Shado." Oliver whispered. He felt Felicity pull back. "It was my fault, and I wanted to tell him, but I didn't."

Oliver cut off in half anger and half sadness.

"And he found out another way." Felicity finished. Oliver nodded.

"I had to kill him to stop him after was injected with mirakuru. I can't—"Oliver shook his head. "I can't let that happen to Roy."

"Everything will work out Oliver." Felicity reassured him. Dig made a noise of agreement.

Oliver wasn't so sure.

Despite how it had came to be, Felicity was happy to be pregnant. She already loved her child more than anything else and was excited to meet him or her.

But some parts of pregnancy were not as joyful. Like the back aches, cravings for food that gave her heartburn, or her constant need to pee.

Felicity was just returning from what seemed like her twentieth trip to the bathroom. It was Saturday night, and she had spent all day working on the fingerprints Oliver had given her last night. Safe to say it was slow going, especially with her many bathroom trips.

Oliver was currently training Roy, waiting till Felicity got a hit. Dig sat, going over research on Turner. Felicity thought he was mostly babysitting her.

She couldn't help but let out a groan of pain as she slid down into her chair. Dig looked up and chuckled at her.

"Don't you laugh at me John Diggle." Felicity glowered at him. "This could be you soon…or well Lyla."

It was Dig's turn to glare.

"Speaking of relationships, how're you and Oliver?" Dig asked playfully. Felicity stuck her tongue out at him, just as the foundry door opened, and Oliver entered, limping and obviously in pain.

"Oliver! What happened?" She exclaimed, trying to rise from her seat.

"I'm fine." Oliver reassured her, getting to her just as she got to her feet. "Roy had a blow up. You should stay sitting."

Oliver was frowning at her like he just realized she was standing. Oh god, maybe he had a concussion.

"I should be sitting? You should be sitting!" Felicity glared. Oliver followed her demand. "Let me get you some ice packs."

"I can do it." Dig answered, standing up to help. "You really should rest."

Felicity glared at the both of them but eventually did sit down. She watched as Dig patched Oliver up. When he was done, Dig stood back.

"What are we going to do about Roy?"

Oliver rubbed his forehead frustrated. "I don't know." He turned to Felicity. "Where are we with the fingerprints?"

"I struck out with Domestic, but I've got a couple more databases to check."

Oliver hummed in appreciation.

Felicity listened in as Dig tried to get Oliver to give up on Roy, and Oliver denying it. Oliver's phone rang, and she heard him answer.

"Hey." Felicity turned to see Oliver whisper addressing her. "Laurel's upstairs."

Oh that's just really unfortunate timing. Had Laurel figured out their hideout? Felicity turned the club's security camera footage on and saw what appeared to be a very intoxicated Laurel at the bar.

Felicity winced. She had wanted so bad to believe that Laurel had actually been set up. But she was wrong.

"Felicity…" Oliver said trying to comfort her, but she refused to look at him.

"You should change so we can go up there."

Ten minutes later, Felicity and Oliver were entering the club from the outside entrance. As they approached the bar, Thea saw them and came over.

"Felicity. I didn't know you were with Oliver. I wouldn't have called if I'd known." Thea said, pulling her in for a quick hug. Felicity smiled at the young woman. She somehow always knew how to brighten Felicity's day.

"Me and Felicity were together when you called, and she wanted to come." Oliver informed Thea, not technically lying. Thea rolled her eyes.

"Well Laurel's over there." She said sadly, pointing to the bar where Laurel was gabbing to the bartender.

Oliver went forward and Felicity stood back.

"Laurel. What are you doing here?" Oliver asked from behind her. Laurel quickly spun around to face Oliver and Felicity. Something was off about Laurel's drunkenness.

"I came to party. Isn't this where it's happening. All the good stuff." Laurel slurred, but at the end the drunkenness left her body and she winked.

Oliver stepped back in surprise. Felicity had been right earlier. Laurel had figured out their base of operations. Not only that but she played drunk, because she knew Felicity and Oliver would come. Damn. That was smart.

Which means they couldn't just keep pushing her to side anymore. Laurel deserve the truth.

"Laurel..." Oliver started to warn.

"I'm not going anywhere, Oliver. The Skull Mask ruined my life." Laurel angrily admitted. "I'm done being bullied around."

Felicity felt her phone vibrate with the notification that her fingerprints had got a match.

"Oliver." She called urgently. Both Laurel and Oliver turned to her. She waved her phone to signal Oliver, who sighed and turned back to Laurel.

"We will talk later." He growled. Laurel buffed up and stood tall.

"I'm not going anywhere." She slowly told him. Felicity was done with letting Oliver make stupid decisions.

"Oliver, enough. It's time she knew." Felicity whispered angrily. Oliver tensed then slumped. He motioned for Laurel to follow them. When he passed Felicity, he grabbed onto her hand and squeezed.

Their hands stayed together as they walked down the foundry stairs with Laurel on their heels and as they stood back and let Laurel soak it all in. Dig stood silently by the computers

Laurel looked like her whole life had been validated.

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to for a longer moment. Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand before letting go and waling to her computer.

"The fingerprints were in Interpol's database. He worked for a back market arms dealer named Milo Armitage." Felicity read off.

"What's…going on?" Laurel asked confused. Felicity started to speak but was interrupted.

"Nothing." Oliver said glaring at Felicity who only glared back harder. Finally, Oliver sighed in defeat.

"A very bad man stole a prototype earthquake machine from Merlyn's house." Felicity let Laurel know. The woman paled, but Felicity trudged on. "I found who he's working for, and running scans for him now.

Everyone waited with baited breaths for Laurel to do or say something. She closed her eyes for a few moments and seemed to be holding herself together. After several seconds, she let out a deep breath.

"Ok." Laurel let out, opening her eyes. That one word broke the tension, and it was suddenly business as usual with the overprotective squad and everything.

"You need to be sitting. The doctor said—" Oliver started as he ushered her to her seat.

"That I need less stress." Felicity interrupted. "I know. I know."

Oliver smiled fondly at her, just as a ping went off on her computer. She sat in her seat and took a look.

"Looks like Armitage has a ship docked at the bay. It's leaving tonight. Convenient." Felicity informed the group.

"Get me a dock number." Oliver said as he went to change.

Ten minutes later, Oliver was gone, and Dig, Felicity, and Laurel sat listening. Felicity could tell Laurel felt overwhelmed.

She placed a hand on Laurel's, startling her.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Felicity asked with a friendly look on her face. Laurel gave her a small smile.

"Yeah. I'm relieved that I was right, but…" She trailed off.

"Knowing and seeing are two different things." Laurel nodded.

Felicity held Laurel's hand through everything. The fight between The Arrow and The Bronze Tiger, the machine being started, Oliver revealing his identity to Roy, and the machine being blown up.

All three were tense waiting, and they all let out a breath when Roy stopped it in time.

Laurel stood suddenly. Felicity and Dig looked at her to see tears running down her face.

"Laurel?" Felicity tried to comfort her. She just shook her head before fleeing the foundry.

Felicity silently worried for Laurel until Oliver came back online, letting them know he was bringing Roy to the foundry.

"Sounds god. Oliver?" Felicity said, continuing once he gave a sound of approval. "Laurel left. She took it all kinda hard."

All Oliver did was bark out their eta and hung up on her.

Twenty minutes later, Dig and Felicity stood as Roy and Oliver entered the foundry.

"Roy meet Felicity Smoak and John Diggle." Oliver introduced. As he looked around, Roy's face matched the look that Laurel had just a few hours ago.

"Do you normally let pregnant people in on highly dangerous situations?" Roy asked, looking at Felicity's belly.

"As if he could stop me." Felicity scoffed. Oliver fondly smiled back. Roy let a small smile break through.

"As amazing as this is, I need time to process." Roy admitted.

"Take all the time you need. You deserve it." Oliver said shaking his hand. As Roy excited, Felicity couldn't help but imagine Oliver giving a similar encouragement to their child.

"I'll be heading out too." Dig offered before giving Felicity quick hug and departing.

Finally, Oliver and Felicity were alone. He gave her a content smile.

"If you give me minute to change, I can drive you home."

Felicity nodded.

The drive to Felicity's apartment was spent in comfortable silence which allowed for Felicity's mind to wander.

Last week she had told Oliver the truth, and if Laurel hadn't of shown up, Felicity was sure something would have happened. So she promised herself that when things with Roy and Laurel calmed down, her and Oliver would get back on track. And now things were calmed down, so there's nothing holding Felicity back.

At Felicity's apartment, she invites him in, and they find themselves sitting closely together on her couch.

"Do you think Laurel will be ok?" Oliver quietly asked.

"She's strong." Felicity answered. "Thea told me about your mom running for mayor. How do you feel about that?"

"I'm happy for her. She deserves happiness." Oliver said with a smile directed towards her. Suddenly Felicity felt a big kick coming from her 24-week stomach.

Oliver pulled back, having felt it. He put his hands on her stomach.

"Wow. Looks like we have a soccer star here."

Just then Felicity couldn't remember why she wasn't kissing Oliver every chance she got. So that's what she did.

Oliver surged into the kiss for only a couple of second before breaking apart. His eyes were wide and confused.

"Felicity…what—"

"I love you and I want to be with you." Felicity said, letting it all out there. Oliver studied her for a few minutes before finding what he was looking for.

The first kiss was a chaste chance, but this was a passionate explosion. Months of built-up sexual tension were being resolved and Felicity could barely think.

She vaguely feels Oliver guiding them to her bedroom. But she's all there when they separate at her bed and Oliver disrobes completely, leaving her to drool over Oliver's perfect body.

Sure they had been intimate before, but both times were rushed and there was less time for Felicity to step back and appreciate the glorious specimen that he was.

Oliver began kissing down Felicity's neck while slowly unzipping her dress, He slipped it off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet. While she stepped out from it, Oliver kept kissing her shoulders and the proceeded to take her bra off.

Felicity moaned loudly as Oliver's mouth attached itself to one of her breasts. Suckling and nipping at just the right spots before moving on to the next breast. Oliver seemed to be enjoying it as much as she was or at least the hard body part rubbing against her thigh seemed to enjoy it. Eventually Oliver let go of her nipple with a wet pop, moving on to the next spot but not before rubbing his beard over her now sensitive chest.

And oh when did they lay down on the bed. Forget pregnancy brain. Felicity was suffering from sexy Oliver brain.

Oliver placed a kiss onto Felicity's stomach, and in that moment Felicity felt like everything was going to be alright. She placed a loving hand on Oliver's cheek to which he softly nestled it. He gave it a quick peck before winking at her.

Before Felicity could blink, Oliver gave a swift lick to her center making her gasp in pleasure. Her underwear were soaking as Oliver ripped them off of her. That almost made Felicity cum right there.

Felicity could feel herself starting to reach the edge as Oliver paid particular attention to her clit. Without warning Oliver slid two of his fingers into Felicity, and sent her straight over a cliff of pleasure. Her boy clenched down on Oliver's fingers and she let out a deep moan of pleasure.

When Felicity finally came back to herself, Oliver was kneeling between her legs lovingly looking at her. She panted to try to get her breath back and reached for Oliver's erection.

Gotta love pregnancy hormones.

Still kneeling, Oliver placed his hands on Felicity's hips and allowed her to guide him to her entrance. When his tip touched her, Felicity moaned and let her hands traveled up into Oliver's hair.

Oliver went agonizingly slow. It took a couple minutes before Oliver was fully seated inside of Felicity.

This was the moment that Oliver felt he got everything he ever wanted. Laid out in front of him was the love of his life who was pregnant with their child.

Felicity's belly was just large enough to be something to be careful of but not something that made sex impossible. While still fully in her, Oliver pulled Felicity to him so her legs went over his. Their hips were touching from how close they were.

That's when Oliver began to start thrusting.

He tried his hardest to keep his thrusts slow but that only lasted a few moments before Felicity's wet heat and sexy noises turned him on so much that he couldn't take anymore. He kept enough self-control to make sure not to hurt his child but even that was difficult as he started to fell Felicity fluttering around him, a sign of her impending orgasm. Which thank the lord, because Oliver wasn't far behind.

With one rub to Felicity's clit, Oliver could feel Felicity clenching down on him and letting out a scream of his name. Hearing his name come from her mouth at her orgasm sent Oliver to his own.

When the both of them had cooled down enough, Oliver slowly extracted himself earning groans from both of them. Moving quickly, Oliver grabbed a washcloth and cleaned both of them off.

After he had returned to the bed, he found Felicity under the covers on her back, and he could tell she was close to falling asleep. Oliver pulled back the covers and joined her.

Oliver placed a hand on Felicity's stomach and looked up into her eyes as she smiled down at him.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." Felicity whispered back.

As the couple cuddled and started to sleep, Oliver could help but think he had gotten everything he had ever wanted.


	13. Heir to the Demon

This was what heaven felt like. Felicity was sure of it.

She was sitting on her couch relaxing with her feet on the coffee table. The morning sun was shining through the curtains. There was an open baby name book next to her, and Oliver's head was on her lap.

Heaven indeed.

It had been two weeks since their passionate reunion and not once had she regretted it. Better yet, Felicity was sure that Oliver didn't either.

"What about Connor?" Oliver suggested without opening his eyes. Felicity noncommittedly hummed and went on running her fingers through his hair. "Or how about Nickolas?"

"Thea's convinced it's a girl." Felicity slowly replied. A huff of laughter came from Oliver. "Speaking of, she says her and Roy are doing good."

Any humor that once graced Oliver's face was gone. Roy had decided to take the past couple of days off to spend with Thea.

"As much as you didn't want to, I think that letting Roy in on your secret was a good idea." Oliver turned his head to make eye contact with her. "He's been a nice addition to Team Arrow."

Oliver jokingly glared at her, and Felicity internally danced at getting him to loosen up.

"The _Foundry_ has been pretty packed lately." Oliver admitted before turning his head back to let Felicity continue her ministrations. "What with Roy and Laurel spending all their free time there."

He wasn't wrong. Roy had in fact spent quite a lot of time down in the foundry training with Oliver and Dig, and he hadn't gone off the handle since the night of the earthquake device. Oliver even willingly let the young man come with on some paroles.

Laurel was also a new constant. Almost every night, she was next to Felicity asking questions or listening over the comms. Felicity wasn't sure what Laurel was planning on doing in the long run or even what Oliver wanted her to do. Either way she was here, and to be honest, Felicity was happy to have another woman in Team Arrow full time with her.

"Which allows you to spend more time doing other things." Felicity cheekily said. Oliver turned to face once more. She leaned down to kiss him but stopped at the last second. "Like get ready for your mother's campaign meeting."

"Ugh." Oliver groaned, moving away from Felicity like a pouty child. "Please don't talk about my mother when we're about to kiss."

Felicity laughed and pushed Oliver up who then helped her get on her feet. They walked hand in hand to Felicity's bedroom. The room had been very messy since Oliver and her entered their relationship. He had basically stayed at her place every night.

She had turned to her closet to pick out an outfit for the day, and was praying that she would still fit into the last maternity clothes she had bought, when Oliver came up beside her sans a shirt.

"We could save time and share a shower." Oliver suggested. Felicity rolled her eyes. He was such a guy.

"If we share a shower, we'll be late. And how exactly will we explain that to your mother and sister?" Felicity asked as Oliver wrapped his arms around her and started kissing down her neck.

"We could tell them the truth." He stated. She turned around in his arms and gave him a look.

"We're not telling your family that we were late because we were having sex. Plus, they don't even know we're dating yet." Felicity patted Oliver on the cheek. "We're telling them tonight remember?"

Before Oliver could respond, there was a dainty knock on Felicity's front door.

"Looks like Mrs. Norris 'lost' her cat again." Oliver chuckled.

"Well unfortunately for Mrs. Norris, I'm going to get the door, and you're going to take a shower." Felicity said before pushing Oliver away and started her waddle to the door.

"Love you." Oliver yelled from behind her, going towards her bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah. I love you too."

The past two weeks had been like a dream. Felicity was with the love of her life and the father of her child. Team Arrow was without drama, and they were going to be spending the day with Oliver's family which Felicity had a solid relationship with.

Of course that meant Felicity's life had to go terrible. When Felicity opened the door, the last person she expected was on the other side.

"Mom!" Felicity gasped. Her mother squealed and jumped up and down.

Having Donna Smoak as a mother was an interesting experience. The two of them were different in everything but looks, and as a teenager, Felicity wanted nothing to do with the woman. Their relationship was strained for multiple years. In fact, it was only since Felicity had become pregnant that the two had gotten closer.

So Felicity wasn't totally put out with her mother being in town. Sure a notice would have been nice, but her mother was still her mother. Felicity had even thought of inviting Donna to town before the baby came, but then everything with Oliver happened.

Which is the reason that Felicity wasn't exactly pleased with her mother's sudden appearance.

"Look at you." Her mother gasped, tears filling her eyes. She gestured to Felicity's six and half month belly. "My baby is having a baby."

With that, Donna pulled her in for a hug. Felicity couldn't help but tear up as well. No matter how unexpected, Felicity had missed her mom.

As the embrace continued, Felicity heard Oliver exit the bathroom and begin their way.

"Felicity. Where did you put my—" Oliver started before stopping once he saw the two woman embracing. At least that was what Felicity assumed happened as she had yet to be released from her mother's arms. "Who's this?"

Donna pulled away from her and turned to face Oliver. Her mother blushed, and as Felicity turned she saw the reason. Oliver was currently only wearing a towel around his waist. Felicity internally groaned. Her mother stepped closer to her, and Felicity closed the door.

"Oliver Queen." Donna mumbled in awe. "Oliver Queen is in your apartment. Just in a towel."

Oliver was currently looking at Felicity very confused. Just like that Donna squealed once more and joyously embraced her.

"Oh honey." Donna said, stepping back to look at her. "I'm so glad you and Oliver worked everything out."

Felicity could see the moment Oliver figured out who the woman who interrupted their morning was. His eyes widened and steps forward.

"Hi…" Oliver trails off, not knowing her mother's name.

"Donna." Her mother hurriedly answers. Oliver nods with a smile.

"Donna." He looked back at Felicity. "Felicity didn't tell me that you were coming."

"It was surprise. I just missed her so much!" Donna said, smiling at Felicity who gave Oliver a pained smile. Her new beau looked like he was holding back laughter. "I couldn't miss all of my Felicity's pregnancy."

"Mom. We have to take care of some business at the office." Felicity explained. Donna frowned.

"I can take care of it." Oliver quickly interjected. Felicity turned to him with a questioning look. "Spend time with your mother, and I'll just see you later."

"Oh that's perfect, Felicity." Her mother squealed. Felicity hadn't quite decided if this was a good thing or not yet. One thing was for sure, she didn't appreciate Oliver pushing her to spend time with her mother.

Oliver smiled down at her before going back to her bedroom, Felicity assumed, to finish getting ready.

"Oh you should be sitting." Donna declared, pushing her to the couch. Felicity just rolled her eyes and took a seat.

"Mom, I'm fine." Felicity said fondly. Her mother sat down next to her and placed a hand on Felicity's bump.

"You've had a difficult pregnancy with all those hospital visits. You should be relaxing."

"That's what I keep telling her." Oliver teased, coming back from the bedroom. He was wearing one of the many suits he had left at her apartment, and Felicity was once again struck by how amazing he was.

He dropped a kiss on her head before making his goodbyes and leaving. Felicity turned back to her mother who was giving her a large smile.

"Now tell me how exactly you two became a thing."

"Nice of you to join us." Thea teased as Oliver entered the conference room. He smiled at his younger sister and gave her a quick hug. His mother and Walter were off to the side speaking. "You didn't even come home last night."

"I had to take care of something." Thea smirked but thankfully let it drop.

Oliver was ready to tell everyone about his and Felicity's relationship the second they had made it official, but Felicity was adamant that they wait a little while before telling anyone to make sure they were stable.

Of course that went out the window the second that Dig saw them together. The man had given the pair a small smile before moving on. Roy was unaware of any change, but Oliver was convinced that that had more to do with the fact that he had assumed from the get-go that they were dating.

Laurel was a different take all together. She was a frequent visitor to the foundry and hiding the new development in his and Felicity's relationship wasn't really an option. Despite many assurances from Laurel that she was happy for them, Oliver and Felicity agreed to go easy on any PDA in the foundry.

Two amazing weeks had gone by quickly, but Oliver could tell his family was starting to get suspicious. Just the night before Oliver and Felicity agreed it was time to tell the Queens, and they planned to do it at dinner that night. Oliver could hold out for a couple more hours.

"Ah Oliver." Moria said, walking over with Walter. His mother pulled him in for a hug, which he returned. Walter shook his hand. "I thought Felicity was joining us."

"That was the plan, but Felicity's mother made an unexpected visit this morning." Oliver chuckled. Moria raised her eyebrow.

"Well, why don't you invite her to dinner tonight? It would be nice to have a whole family get together." Moria suggested, making it clear that it was an order. Oliver gave her a pained smile.

"Yeah, Oliver. I want to meet your mother-in-law." Thea said with a wink. Before anything else could be said, Moria's campaign manager entered the conference room.

Mother-in-law. Huh, now that was an idea.

Felicity was going insane.

Her mother had only been in the city for a couple hours, and she already felt like pulling her hair out. Felicity and her mother's relationship was strengthening but keeping her night job a secret was straining plus she was currently looking into something that she needed to be at the foundry to work on.

They had spent the morning at a local diner eating and catching up, and while Felicity would say that a relaxing morning with mother was nice, she quickly started to chomp at the bits to finish her project.

"Mom, I loved spending the morning with you." Felicity said as they entered her apartment. Donna turned to look at her. "But I have this huge project at work that I need to get back to."

"A hugeproject huh." Donna winked. "Is this Oliver's _project_?"

"Mom! No. Gross." Felicity gasped. Sometimes Felicity wondered if she was adopted.

"Honey. You're pregnant, it's obvious that you and him aren't celibate." Donna nonchalantly said as she sat on the couch before grabbing a magazine she had brought with her. "Go ahead and take care of your _project_ and call me when you're done."

Felicity wasn't sure if it was the pregnancy making her nausea or the fact her mother called sex with Oliver a project.

Safe to say, Felicity was more than ready to spend a couple quiet hours in the foundry digging for information. Of course her life was never that easy.

As Felicity stepped through the door, she could hear the loud unmistakable clang that came from the salmon ladder. _Weird,_ she thought to herself, _Oliver wasn't supposed to be done for at least another hour._

The first thing Felicity saw was Dig standing a few feet behind her station staring at the source of the noise. It wasn't until Felicity joined him did she realize that the person on the salmon ladder was definitely not her boyfriend/baby daddy. Unless he had turned into a long blonde haired assassin.

Dig smiled down at her as she sat at her desk. The clanging continued.

"What's up with that?" Felicity asked, pointing to Sara jumping away. Dig shrugged.

"She was here when I got here 15 minutes ago. So your guess is as good as mine." He said before walking away. Felicity sighed and turned back to her computers.

For the next hour, Felicity dug into her research and every once in a while looking up at her friend. Dig worked on something silently behind her. After a bathroom room break, Felicity came back to see Dig staring at Sara who had finally jumped off the ladder and was heading their way.

Sara stopped short, looking at Felicity surprised.

"Wow." She stated before slowly walking closer and staring at Felicity's belly.

"Yep." Felicity agreed. Sara placed a hand on Felicity's tummy, pulling back with a small smile when Baby Queen kicked.

"You were a lot smaller the last time I saw you." Sara remarked, stepping back. Felicity glared at Diggle as he chuckled.

"Well being six months pregnant will do that do you." Before Felicity could question Sara, Felicity's phone went off on her desk.

Just before Felicity opened the text, the foundry door opened and Oliver practically stomped down the stairs. He was typing on his phone—probably to her— and didn't look up until he got to the bottom step. Oliver startled when he saw her and again when he saw Sara.

"Sara. What are you doing here?" Oliver asked.

"You called me. About Laurel." Sara replied, sounding frustrated. Oliver seemed to be getting frustrated himself. Felicity slowly sat in her computer chair, trying to not draw attention to herself.

"That was almost a month ago Sara." Oliver voice was steadily getting louder. Dig looked ready to get in between a physical fight. "And I called you again to tell you she was fine."

"So fine that she's lost her job. So fine that our mother is in town because she's so worried for her." Sara forcible stated. She and Oliver stood facing each other in the middle of the foundry. "I need to see her for myself."

"Well you're going to get that chance very soon." Felicity said, finally opening the text she received earlier. Laurel had texted to inform Felicity that she was on her way to the foundry with some new protein shake she had heard was good for pregnant women. "She's on her way here now."

Sara blanched.

"To the foundry? Since when does Laurel know about all of this?" Sara had officially entered the mad area. Thankfully it was directed at Oliver.

"A lot of things have changed since you left Sara." Oliver quietly said, before shooting a tiny look towards Felicity. "Right now, you should be more focused on what you're going to say to Laurel when she finds out you're alive."

And just like that Sara seemed to deflate. She walked to a corner of the foundry Felicity had filled with sparring equipment. Felicity watched as Dig patted Oliver on the back before going back to his guns. Oliver sighed and turned to her.

"Hey." Felicity whispered. Oliver smiled and made his way to her. He put an arm around her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her head. Felicity could tell he needed a moment.

"Hi." He said into her hair before finally pulling away. "I thought you'd be with your mom."

Felicity flushed at the memory which made Oliver raise his eyebrow. "I just told her I had something to get done. How'd the meeting go?"

"It was good. Mom and Thea missed you though." Oliver stated rubbing his hand up and down her back as he talked. "Mom wants you to invite your mother to dinner tonight."

Oh lord. Moria Queen and Donna Smoak in the same room. Felicity didn't know if she should be worried about eternal embarrassment or world domination.

"That'll be…fun." Felicity tried to hide her cringe. Oliver let out an amused huff of air before worriedly looking at the corner where clanging could be heard from. "What are you gonna do about that?"

Oliver turned back to her with a shrug. Before Felicity could respond, the foundry door clanged open. Laurel was there. Felicity put her hand in Oliver's and squeezed, showing her support.

"I know you said that I need to stop bringing you pregnancy supplies, but a friend posted about this and I thought it could help with the heartburn you've been having." Laurel said, making it down the steps.

"Oh. Give me." Felicity replied with her hands outstretched. Laurel laughed as she gave the drink to her. Heartburn wasn't any funny business. Felicity took one drink and gagged.

"Never said it tasted good." Laurel remarked with an amused smile. The things Felicity went through.

Oliver gave Laurel an uncomfortable smile.

"Laurel. I need to tell you something." He spoke. Laurel furrowed her eyebrows at his tone. Oliver looked like he was readying himself. But before he could continue, Sara immerged from the corner and interrupted.

"I'm alive." Laurel whirled around and gasped. The tension in the foundry grew thick while they waited.

"You're not dead." Laurel mumbled emotionless. She blinked, confused. "I don't understand. H-How?"

"It's a long story." Sara admitted while walking closer. The two sisters just stared at each other for a few seconds. Felicity held on to Oliver's hand tight.

"I ca-I can't deal with this right now." Laurel gasped. Before anyone could reply, she spun on her heel and practically sprinted up the stairs. As the door clanged shut behind her, Sara turned to where her stuff was and stood silently for a second.

"Sara…" Oliver dropped Felicity's hand and started for her, but Sara wasn't having it.

"Not now Ollie." She said without looking at him. Felicity watched as Sara shrugged her jacket on and left the foundry without looking at anyone else.

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. Dig walked over to him, and Felicity took the chance to finish up her searches and send the alerts to her phone. By the time she was done, Oliver was walking over to her.

"Everything ok?" Felicity asked. Oliver nodded with a tense jaw.

"We should leave soon to make it to dinner on time." He replied. Felicity nodded and grabbed her phone to call her mother.

Oliver was quiet as Dig drove the couple and Donna to the Queen mansion. Donna was going on about the shopping trip she went on when Felicity was gone, but Felicity didn't really hear a word she said. She was too busy worrying about Oliver (and the searches she had going on in the foundry).

He seemed to be thinking about the Lance sisters' predicament and if letting Laurel in on the Arrow business was actually a good idea. The baby must have felt Felicity's turmoil since it was moving all around.

Felicity rubbed her ever-growing tummy with one hand and held on to Oliver with her other. He finally looked down at her and gave her a small smile. Oliver placed a hand over hers that was on her tummy. For a few moments, it was just their family, and Felicity knew no matter what happened that they'd get through it together.

The moment was interrupted when Felicity heard her mother gasp.

They had arrived.

"Oh honey, you sure now how to pick em." Donna said, staring up at the mansion in awe. Felicity blushed as Dig parked the car and came to open the door. All she could do was hope was that her mother wouldn't completely ruin her relationship with the Queen family, mainly Moria. Felicity had to already convince her mother to wear the most conservative outfit she had brought with her, even then the green blouse and skirt wasn't exactly something you'd wear to church.

The Queen family was in front of the mansion waiting for them, not unlike the first time Felicity had come to dinner. Felicity was careful to keep space between her and Oliver until they could tell his family later in the evening.

"Ms. Smoak, It's so nice to meet you." Moria said with a smile. Thea nodded her head in agreement.

"The feeling is mutual." Donna replied with a grin. She nudged Felicity. "It's much nicer than how I met Oliver, while he was just wearing a towel. What a great way to learn that these two are together, huh? No matter how happy it made me."

Felicity was dead. And this was hell.

"Oh my god, Mom." Felicity let out. Thea had a huge grin on her face and bounced up and down excitedly. Felicity couldn't even look at Oliver.

For her part, Moria didn't seem fazed. She just smiled at both of them and eyed Oliver.

"Well Ms. Smoak, I think you'll find that that news makes us as equally happy." Moria sent Felicity a wink and beckoned them into the mansion. Donna following immediately behind her.

Thea grabbed onto Felicity and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so glad my brother finally got his head out of ass." Felicity couldn't help but laugh as Oliver protested. "I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner."

Well at least that was out of the way.

Dinner was, well an event.

Halfway through Oliver got a call he claimed was work and excused himself. Before she could object, he was gone, leaving her and her mother alone with the Queen family. Even with Dig there, Felicity felt like a fish out of water.

Donna had never had the problems with others that Felicity did, and it seemed that she and Moria had actually hit it off. It was slightly frightening.

Ten minutes after Oliver had left, Felicity couldn't stand it any longer and excused herself for a bathroom break. She quickly called Oliver.

"What's going on?" She demanded as soon as Oliver picked up. "'Work' would never have called you."

"Sara called. Said she needed to talk. I'm going to meet up with her now." He sighed into the phone. "I'll come over after to tell you about it."

"Better not." Felicity slumped onto the toilet. "My mother is staying with me remember."

"Right." Oliver sounded frustrated. "I'll just call you then."

Felicity made an agreeable noise. "Don't think this means you're forgiven for leaving me alone with my mother and your family."

She heard Oliver let out a bark of laughter before she hung up on him.

Felicity spent another five minutes in the bathroom steeling herself to finish the rest of dinner, but right as she felt like she could make it through, her search alert went off on her phone.

There went any calm she had.

"Alright." Her mother started as they sat on her couch later that evening. "What's wrong?"

"What're you talking about?" Felicity said. It sounded false even to her.

"You've acting weird all night. And I know it's not just pregnancy stuff." Donna answered with a frown.

Felicity hadn't been able to keep her discomfort off her face, and the dinner quickly fizzled out when she feigned not feeling well.

"It's not because of me spilling the beans about you and Oliver, is it? Because you know I wouldn't have if I knew you hadn't told them yet."

"No, Mom. It's not that." Felicity sighed, trying to sound convincing. "Just some work stuff."

Before Donna could reply, someone knocked on her front door. _Oliver must have changed his mind about coming over,_ she thought.

"I'll get it honey. You stay sitting." Donna quickly got up. Felicity smiled at her mother.

She wasn't really ready for who was on the other side of the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is Felicity here?" Detective Lance sounded out, obviously very confused.

"Over here Detective." Felicity said as Lance looked around her mother to see her. "You can let him in Mom."

"Detective, huh?" Felicity's mother smiled, as she let Lance in. "I didn't know Felicity had such a…handsome friend."

Felicity could see Detective Lance's blush from where she was sitting. She was too tired and preoccupied with other things to care about her mother's blatant flirting with Lance.

"Well your daughter never mentioned how pretty her mother was, Ms. Smoak." Lance replied, with a slightly uncomfortable smile on his face. The flirting was apparently two-sided.

"Donna." Her mother said with an outstretched hand which Detective Lance took.

"Officer Quentin Lance." The two smiled at each other, and Felicity finally had enough.

"Did you need something Detective?" She interrupted. They both startled like they had forgotten that she was there. Lance suddenly became more serious.

"I wanted to talk to you about a visitor I had this evening." He said with a raised eyebrow. Felicity nodded, signally she knew who he was talking about. "But I see you have company. So I will just talk to you about it later."

Felicity smiled and watched as he left with a goodbye to her and an awkward smile towards her mother. She quickly excused herself to her bedroom after that. It had been a long day.

"Hey." She said, answering Oliver's phone call. Felicity was laying in her bed, flipping through a tech magazine.

"Hey. Mom called and said you weren't feeling well." He said concerned. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. Just getting tired more easily, especially with my mom around. How'd the Sara thing go?" Felicity asked. Oliver hummed, obviously not believing her but allowing her to change the subject.

"Problematic." He sighed. Uh oh. "Some assassin from the League is here trying to make Sara come back."

"This isn't the first time. She avoided them the last time."

"This is different. I got the feeling Sara and her were…intimate."

Ok. Yeah that was pretty surprising.

"That's going to be-" Felicity started but a yawn cut her off. Oliver chuckled from the other side.

"I should let you get some sleep."

"No. I'm not tired." Felicity answered back. "Is it weird that I miss you?"

"It's not weird." Oliver laughed. "I miss you too. How about we just talk for a little while?"

"That sounds nice." Felicity agreed as she relaxed more into her bed. "You'll never guess what happened when Detective Lance met my mom tonight."

Sometimes Felicity forgot she was going to be a mother. Don't get her wrong, she never forgot that she was pregnant. That was just an impossible feat.

But the fact that after the whole ordeal of pregnancy there would a tiny human that she would have to take care of, that sometimes slipped her mind.

When she did remember that pretty significant information, Felicity would start to slightly panic. She didn't know much about children, and her own relationship with her mother wasn't exactly healthy.

So her mother visiting was really a blessing in disguise. Felicity could finally try to clear the air between them and get some motherly advice.

That's why the two of them were eating lunch at a diner the day after the Queen dinner.

"Honey," Donna started, after they had ordered and gotten their food. "I know something is bothering you. I might be able to help."

Felicity didn't really think her mother could help with her main issue right now, but she might be able to help with some of Felicity's underlying issues.

"I'm just nervous I guess." Felicity admitted, not looking at her mother and picking at her food. "I'm getting into third trimester, and I just don't feel prepared."

"I don't know if you could ever be really prepared when it comes to a child." Her mother joked. Felicity chuckled at her mother from across the booth. "What really matters is if the baby is brought into a world of love, and honey you certainly are surrounded by that."

The two fell into a silence while they ate.

A world of love. That sounded good to Felicity.

But that meant she couldn't keep secrets. She needed to take care of the information she had got and soon.

"Mom. I hate to bail on you again." Felicity started, as they were finishing off their food.

"But you have a big project at work." Donna finished. Felicity sadly nodded, but her mother just waved her off. "Go on. I want to go on a walk anyways. See some of the sites. Shops…. maybe the police station."

Felicity couldn't help but laugh. She hoped she was half the mom her mother was.

It was time she talked to another mother.

Oliver was a little frustrated.

He had just barely convinced Sara that it was time to come home and stay when some lady assassin named Nyssa came for her. If that wasn't bad enough, Sara and Nyssa had obviously been intimate. Oliver wasn't sure what Sara was going to do. Plus, with Laurel finding out that Sara was still alive, he was dealing with her being angry with him.

Throw in the fact that with Sara's return, the foundry was becoming very full. Laurel didn't have an official role yet, and he was still training Roy.

Also, he really wanted to kiss his girlfriend.

Meeting Felicity's mother was something that Oliver had wanted to do for a long time, and he knew that secretly Felicity had missed her mom.

But not spending the last night with her hurt more than a lot of things then he'd been through.

And the best way to work through frustration was physical excretion. Preferably with Felicity, but Oliver would take what he could get.

That was why he was currently slamming a sledgehammer on a tire in the middle of the foundry. The foundry was thankfully empty, and it allowed Oliver to think as he kept up his pace.

Everyone important knew about him and Felicity. Her pregnancy was more than half way through, and his relationship with his family was strong. Oliver hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Which was why he was scared.

Life had never given Oliver any favors, and if he was this happy now, it could only mean that sometime soon it all would go back to hell. Oliver felt like he was holding his breath, waiting for the inevitable.

The foundry door clanging open startled Oliver from his thoughts. He smiled at Felicity as she stepped off the stairs. She eyed the giant tire.

"Do I want to know?" Felicity asked, confused. Oliver shrugged with a sheepish smile on his face. He didn't think she would appreciate him working out because of his …frustration.

Felicity shook her head before heading to her computer station. Oliver watched as his baby mama weaved through the stations, carefully navigating with her baby bump protruding out in front. That was a sight that could make Oliver forget all about his worries.

As Felicity slumped down into her chair, Oliver could tell something was off. She didn't stare at him shirtless or even make some innuendo.

"Everything ok?" Oliver asked, coming up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Felicity turned and gave him a tired smile.

"Yeah. It's just been a long day." She admitted, placing her hand over his. Oliver frowned.

"Do you need me to take you home?" He worried, as he scrutinized her. "We can handle it here without you."

Felicity shook her head, with a small smile. "No, I'm fine. Plus, we have dinner with my mom in a little while. I can hold out."

"Let me know if you change your mind." Felicity nodded her head in agreement. Oliver leaned down to give her a kiss just as the foundry door clanged open once more.

Felicity giggled as Oliver groaned and pulled back just as Sara stomped down the stairs.

"I shouldn't be here." Sara groaned out. "The League will find me."

"Sara, like I said last night. We can fight them together." Oliver growled out. "Your family needs you here."

"He's right." Laurel said from the bottom of the stairs, startling them all. Dig was standing behind her. "We need you."

Sara looked taken aback by Laurel's confession.

"Laurel-"

"You're my sister." Laurel quietly continued. She walked up to where Sara was standing, shocked. "I lost you once Sara. I can't lose you again."

Oliver held his breath as they all waited for Sara to respond. Her eyes filled with tears before she started slowly nodding.

"Ok." Sara croaked. "Yeah. I-I'll stay."

Laurel pulled Sara into a tight hug, and Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. There was one thing off his list of many thigs to worry about. Several seconds passed before the sisters separated.

"Dad and Mom are having supper tonight with me. Maybe you could join us?" Laurel wearily asked. Sara looked conflicted for a moment, and quickly glanced at Oliver and Felicity before nodding.

Laurel smiled, and together the sisters left the foundry. Oliver and Dig turned as they heard a sniffle.

"What?" Felicity said with a tissue patting her eyes. Dig chuckled. "That was so sweet."

"Come on, weepy." Oliver said with a grin, grabbing Felicity's coat. "Let's go get ready for dinner with your mom."

His girl was so cute.

The duo quickly said their goodbyes to Diggle and left. On the drive back to Felicity's apartment, she started rambling about the Lance sisters and how nice it was that Sara was staying. Oliver was glad that she seemed back to herself.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Oliver enjoyed being able to watch Felicity with her mother. It was easy to see how much Donna loved her daughter even with all the embarrassing stories. Family was a piece of her life that Felicity keep close to her heart. It was nice to be able to see a little bit more of the woman he was in love with.

"Wait, you mean your _whole_ wardrobe was black?" Oliver questioned, before chuckling. Felicity blushed and swatted his arm.

"Ha-ha. Alright laugh it up." Felicity joked, glaring at him. "I can't help but remember some of your fashion faux paus. What some have called serial killer hair."

It was Oliver's turn to glare at her. Felicity, in turn, stuck her tongue out at him before excusing herself to the bathroom, claiming that his 'spawn was using her bladder as a pillow".

Oliver was big enough to admit he stared after her for a few minutes before turning back to Donna who was wearing a fond smile.

"You're a good man, Oliver." Donna said out of the blue, stunning Oliver. "My baby deserves a good man. Someone different than her father."

Felicity spoke very little about her father. All Oliver knew about the man was that he had left when Felicity was little, and it haunted Felicity till this day.

"When she told me about the pregnancy, I was worried that she was following in my footsteps. Having a child unplanned and the father feeling obligated to stay." Donna sadly announced. Oliver stared on. "But seeing you with her, I know that you two were always headed here. The fact that it's a little soon doesn't matter."

"I love her." Oliver let out without thinking. "And the baby. The pregnancy has been so stressful. I just don't what I'd do if something happened to either of them."

Donna gave him a knowing smile.

"You take care of her Oliver. Keep our girl safe." Donna implored, placing a hand on his and squeezing. Oliver nodded, promising to Donna and himself that he would do anything to protect her and their baby.

Just then, the bathroom door opened down the hall revealing Felicity with a hand cradling her bump. Oliver smiled at her as she reached the table and sat down.

"What were you two talking about?" She said with a smile directed towards him. Oliver just shook his head. Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, not quite believing him. Before she could question him, Oliver felt his phone go off. It was Sara.

"Hey." Oliver answered. Felicity raised her eyebrow.

"Ollie." Sara replied out of breath. "Nyssa. She kidnapped my mom."

Mothers seemed to be making Felicity's life quite problematic.

The newest one being Sara and Laurel's mother being taken. Felicity's own mother was in town, and when her and Oliver made their excuses, Donna didn't seem all that convinced. Oliver's mother was also giving her issues.

And to top it all off, her impending motherhood meant that she was even more stressed about everything.

Felicity was currently sitting at her desk while Oliver interrogated Sara and Laurel behind her. Dig was standing at her side, trying to help her.

She flinched as she heard Oliver and Sara yelling behind her. Dig placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked. Felicity rubbed the back of her neck and threw a look over her shoulder.

"Yeah. Just not a lot of stuff coming up." She lied. Dig obviously didn't believe her as he raised an eyebrow at her bad lie. She gave him a smile.

"Did you find anything?" Oliver boomed, coming up next to her.

"Nothing." Felicity replied. "They don't call them assassins for nothing."

"Me and Sara will hit the streets then." Oliver stated. "Dig will drive you home."

She narrowed her eyes at his tone, but honestly going home sounded like a godsend.

"I can take her." Laurel stepped up, shrugging. "So Dig can go with you guys to cover more area."

Oliver watched Laurel a minute, and Felicity could tell he was trying to figure out her goal. A couple seconds passed before he nodded. Dig and Sara moved away to get ready. She sighed and turned back to her computer to shut it down.

"Hey. Everything ok?" Oliver whispered from behind her, placing a hand on her head. As Felicity turned, she leaned into his touch and hummed in affirmation. From the look in his eye, she could tell he wasn't convinced but didn't have the time to question her. "I'll pick you up tomorrow for my Mom's rally."

He gave her a quick kiss before leaving to change.

Laurel kept silent throughout the walk to her car, but felicity knew her friend well, and something was on her mind. It wasn't until the pair were seated in Laurel's car that she broke the silence.

"Felicity." Laurel spoke up, in a quiet voice. Felicity looked over to see her staring ahead. "I'm scared for my mother."

"Your sister, Oliver, and Dig are out looking for her right now." Felicity comforted her, placing a hand over Laurel's hand that was clenching the steering wheel. "They'll find her."

"What if they don't?" Laurel angrily asked, whirling around to look at Felicity. "What if something happens to her, and I didn't do anything to save her."

Felicity was stunned. This wasn't the Laurel she knew. But then maybe that was problem. Felicity had let her friendship with Laurel fall to the side since her and Oliver got together, and with everything happening right now, she didn't have a lot of time to talk to Laurel about how she was dealing with Sara and her loss of a job.

"Laurel." Felicity said pulling her into a hug. Laurel clenched onto her like she was holding on for dear life.

"I just feel so helpless." Laurel whispered into her hair.

Felicity knew the feeling.

"Do you think Quentin will be here?" Donna asked, fluffing her hair. Felicity rolled her eyes.

"I think he has some family things to deal with Mom." She answered. Dig, who was standing next to her, chuckled.

They were currently standing at the back of a very packed room with a butt load of journalists surrounding a platform where in less than 15 minutes Moria Queen would announce her Mayoral Campaign.

True to his word, Oliver had picked her up this morning to go Moria's mayor campaign announcement. Donna had insisted on coming too, because she said that it would be a good way for the Smoak and Queen family to bond.

Oliver had disappeared once they got here, probably to speak to his mother, so Felicity, Donna, and Dig were waiting off to the sides.

Laurel and Sara's mother had yet to be found and everyone was becoming quite antsy. Lance had called her before Oliver had picked them up. Felicity had to reassure the Detective that they were doing everything they could. Laurel was holed up in the Foundry watching Felicity's alerts and trying to find something with the instruction to immediately call if she found something. Sara was…actually Felicity wasn't sure what the blonde haired assassin was doing.

The youngest Queen came bounding over to her, breaking her train of thought. Felicity was trying her hardest to seem like everything was normal, but with her recent conversation with the matriarch of the Queen Family, she couldn't help but feel nervous around Thea.

"Hey 'Licity." Thea greeted before pulling the girl into a hug. At that exact moment, the baby had apparently woken up because it gave a swift kick. Thea pulled back with an awed face. "Wow. That's a soccer player for sure."

"You felt the baby kick?" Felicity's mother questioned, put out. "I've been trying since I got here and nothing."

"That's because you're impatient." Felicity answered, chuckling along with Thea. "I'm sure you'll feel it eventually. "

"That reminds me. We should start planning your baby shower soon." Thea said excitedly.

Felicity's mother seemed just as excited, and the duo began planning earnestly. Felicity shared a look with Dig who just seemed amused, before taking a look around the packed room to find Oliver.

He was directly next to the stage talking with his mother. Just as Felicity was looking that way, Moria looked up and the two made eye contact. Moria gave her a small smile, and suddenly Felicity couldn't breathe.

What was she going to do?

Dig must have noticed her distress, because he swiftly ushered her out of the room and into a chair down the hall a bit. She leaned over her belly and tried not to pass out. Felicity vaguely heard someone say they were going to get Oliver. Maybe her mother or Thea.

"Felicity, what's happening?" Dig asked, crouched at her side. Felicity was breathing so hard that she couldn't reassure Dig that nothing was physical wrong; she was just having a mental breakdown.

The baby was feeling her distress and kicking every several seconds as if telling her to get it together.

"What's going on?" Oliver bellowed, coming to her side what felt like hours later. He placed one hand on her belly and the other on her check. Him at her side already made Felicity feel ten times better, and her breathing started to slow.

"I don't know man. She looked like she was gonna faint." Dig answered.

"Felicity." Oliver whispered. She finally looked up into his eyes. He was concerned, and Felicity could tell he was a second away from bringing her to the hospital.

"I'm ok." She finally let out. Oliver raised his eyebrows, unconvinced. "I just need some air."

Oliver gave her a small smile, and like he could read her mind, quietly asked everyone if they could give the two of them a minute.

Both Thea and Donna hesitated but eventually gave in and left after each giving her a hug. Dig waited till they left before patting Oliver on the back, giving her a smile, and leaving. Oliver watched him leave.

"Now do you want to tell me what's going on?" Oliver fondly asked, turning back to her. Felicity sighed. It was now or never.

"Do you remember Tempest?" She asked.

"My mother's secret bank account? Of course." Oliver answered. He looked confused.

"A couple days ago there was a transfer out of that account." Felicity recounted. "Your mother paid off a doctor. Dr. Gill to be precise. He delivered Thea."

Oliver's face was becoming increasingly dark. Felicity wished she could protect him from this.

"I had a theory, but I couldn't…" She cut off, choking up. Oliver wiped a tear away. "I wanted to be sure so I spoke to Moria. She confirmed it before begging me not to tell you"

Felicity could see in his eyes that Oliver had an inkling what she was going to tell him. She clasped the hand on her cheek.

"Oliver. Malcom is Thea's father." She whispered.

Oliver clenched his eyes shut and let out a gasp of air. A few tears fell from his eyes. Several seconds passed as the couple cried together.

Suddenly Oliver stood up with a glare. Felicity watched as he began to pace a few yards away with clenched fists. Remembering Moria's words, Felicity called out to him. He looked over to her.

Before either could say anything else, Dig exited the room once more. He immediately sensed the tension and saw the tears.

"Everything alright out here?" He questioned, looking back and forth from Oliver and Felicity.

Oliver just clenched his jaw.

"Well Laurel called. Says she found something." Dig informed them.

"Tell my…mother that Felicity isn't feeling well, so I'm going to take her home." Oliver said, running a hand through his hair. "Then take Donna back to Felicity's place and meet us back at the foundry."

Dig nodded before throwing one last look her way and leaving.

Felicity started the difficult task of standing up. Before she could even get halfway up, Oliver was at her side, helping.

"Here you go." He said once she was on her feet. Felicity felt rather than saw him give her a concerned look. "Are you good?"

All she could do was nod.

How could she?

Oliver's mother had lied for their entire life about who Thea was. He thought that after the family had dealt with his mother's hand in the Undertaking that nothing could tear the family apart, but he was wrong. He and his mother were done. And if Thea found out…

Thea could never know who her real father was.

Thank god Felicity told him the truth. Oliver could only imagine what might have happened if hadn't known.

Speaking of the mother of his child, Felicity was sitting quietly next to him on their way to the foundry. He couldn't imagine the stress she had felt about telling him. After everything with Nyssa and Sara were done, Oliver would have to give both of them a day off so she wouldn't be sent to the hospital again due to stress.

The walk from his car to the side entrance of Verdant was quiet. Oliver had put an arm around Felicity's shoulder and kept her close to his body.

Laurel was sitting at the computer desk when they entered. She looked flustered.

"What did you find?" Oliver asked, the two of them coming to stand right next to the former lawyer.

"I didn't find anything." Laurel answered as she stood up with a paper in her hand. "But I think Sara did."

Oliver took the piece of paper from Laurel and scanned it. A chill went down his spine as he read on.

"What does it say?" Felicity asked, looking over his shoulder.

"She gave herself up to Nyssa. To save my mother." Laurel sadly answered. Oliver looked up at her. "Oliver you have to stop her. I just got her back, and I can't lose her again."

"Felicity." Oliver quietly said, looking to her. "Pull up Sara's tracker."

Oliver moved to walk away and put his suit on, but Laurel stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"I'm going with you." She firmly said. He sighed and kept walking towards his suit.

"No you're not, Laurel."

"Yes I am." She fired back. Laurel straightened and glared at him. "I couldn't do anything to help my mother, but screw you if think for a second that I'm going to stand by and just _hope_ you save my sister. I'm. Going. With. You."

Felicity had finished pulling up Sara's location and was watching him, waiting to see his reaction. Oliver glanced at her, and at her intimate smile, let out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine. But you stay hidden, and do what I tell you." Oliver ordered.

He finished getting ready and walked over to Felicity, pressing a kiss to her forehead and grabbing the Sara's location.

"Call Dig to meet us there."

Sara's tracker placed her at a warehouse on the river. It took Oliver and Laurel ten minutes to get there with Dig pulling up a few seconds behind them.

"Take the back entrance." Oliver told Dig who made his way to the back. He then turned to Laurel. "Stay in the shadows and don't make a sound."

Oliver slowly canvased the entry of the warehouse with Laurel several paces behind him. Finally looking through a doorway and seeing Nyssa's back who seemed to be speaking to Sara while Quentin was holding on to Dinah behind the assassins.

"You have eyes on them?" Oliver whispered over the comms to Dig.

"Affirmative." Dig replied. Oliver snuck forward with Laurel directly at his back till he could hear what was being said.

"Get mom out of here." Sara yelled behind her. Quentin ushered a struggling and crying Dinah out of a side door in the warehouse.

"Dig."

"I got them." Dig answered back, promising to take care of the detective and his ex-wife.

Sara watched her parents leave before turning back to the assassin. After several seconds of harsh whispering that Oliver couldn't hear, Sara knelt to the floor in front of Nyssa with an arrow in her hand that was placed at her throat.

"I'm not going back there. I _can't_ kill anymore." Sara announced loudly. "I'd rather die."

Nyssa screamed in frustration before raising her fist, presumably to knock Sara out.

At that moment, Oliver let an arrow loose, getting both of the assassins' attention. Nyssa and Sara both turned to look at him.

"Not a chance." He growled out. Oliver started shooting arrow after arrow, and luckily the assassin took the bait. He led her away from the kneeling Sara and hidden Laurel.

Nyssa chased Oliver up to the second floor and out onto a balcony. As the room for running decreased, the fighting turned to hand to hand. Each dueling multiple punches and kicks and trying to block the other's.

With one hard punch, Nyssa gained the upper hand and grabbed one of his fallen arrows to finish the job.

"Nyssa don't!" Sara screamed from behind them, making Nyssa turn to face her. Sara held an arrow to her throat. She was holding back tears. Nyssa dropped her arrow and stalked forward towards Sara.

"Sara you must stop this." Nyssa lovingly said. Sara pressed the arrow closer to her throat making Nyssa stop moving forward. "Just come with me, and we can be happy."

Oliver staggered to his feet trying to stop Nyssa or Sara, but before he could get very far an arrow flew through the air and would have hit Nyssa in the shoulder if she hadn't of moved out of the way.

All three of them turned to see Laurel standing with Nyssa forgotten bow.

"You're not going anywhere with my sister." She shouting, slowly walking towards the pair. Oliver staggered forward.

"Laurel. What are doing?" Sara cried out, still with the arrow at her throat.

"I can't lose you again." Laurel bit out, not talking her eyes off of Nyssa who was just staring at the woman.

As soon as Laurel got close enough, Nyssa knocked the bow out of her hands and gave a swift kick to her side. Laurel fell to the ground with a yell. Sara dropped the arrow and fell beside her sister, cradling her.

Nyssa picked up the arrow Sara discarded and loomed over the sisters. Oliver staggered forward trying to stop her.

Sara looked up at the assassin with tears in her eyes. Laurel stared up at her with determination.

"Nyssa please." She pleaded. "If you ever loved me…just no more killing."

Nyssa stalled and closed her eyes. Oliver held his breath as several seconds passed before she eventually dropped the arrow while whispering something in a language Oliver didn't understand.

"In the name of Ra's al Ghul," Nyssa stated. "I release you."

Laurel and Sara collapsed into each other. Police sirens went off startling Oliver. When he looked back to where Nyssa was, she had disappeared.

Oliver hid in the shadows long enough to see the Detective and Dinah embrace their daughters.

It seems like the Lance family was whole again.

Oliver wished he could say the same for the Queen family.

"I'm glad you were feeling good enough to come see me off at the airport." Donna told Felicity as the two of them stood in the terminal at Starling City Airport. Dig was a few feet away, watching after them.

"Me too. I'm sorry we didn't get to spend much time together." Felicity apologized. Donna smiled and waved it off.

"I know you're a busy woman." Donna smiled and placed a hand on Felicity's tummy. "I'm happy for the time we did spend together."

"You'll come back for the baby shower, right?" Felicity asked.

"You couldn't keep me away." Donna replied with a wink. "Plus there's a certain police officer that gave me his phone number."

Felicity widened her eyes but couldn't help laughing and pulling her mother in for a hug.

She waved her goodbyes as Donna went through security. Dig came up behind her.

"Oliver wants us to pick him up." He told her, before ushering her out to the car.

The car ride went by fast with Dig and her speaking catching up on each other's life including Dig's blossoming relationship with Lyla and what they thought Oliver was going to do about his mother and Thea.

They stopped in front of a Quentin's townhouse, and before Felicity could question Dig, Oliver opened the door and slide in.

"Hey." Felicity gently said. Oliver gave her a smile and grabbed her hand and placed his other hand on her bump. As he shut the door, Dig started the car and began driving.

"Hey." He replied. "How'd dropping off your mom go?"

"Good. Although she was annoyed about having a flight so late at night." Felicity chuckled. She slid down and laid her head on Oliver's shoulder. "How is the Lance Family?"

"Good." He whispered into her hair, giving her head a kiss. "Sara said her and Laurel are going take a couple days before coming back to the foundry."

Felicity hummed in acknowledgement, and fought her closing eyes.

"Sleep." Oliver quietly commanded. "I'll wake you when we get back."

It seemed like only minutes later that Oliver was gently shaking her awake.

Felicity looked out the window, only to be confused when she saw the Queen Mansion. She raised her eyebrow at Oliver who gave her a grim smile.

"We promised Thea we'd start spending some nights here, remember?" Oliver reminded her. He grimaced before continuing. "And I need to talk to my mother."

Oh yeah. That needed to happen.

The bid Dig goodbye and slowly walked up the steps of the mansion. Before Oliver could open the door, Felicity squeezed the hand that was in hers. He stopped and looked at her.

"No matter what happens, everything's going to be ok."

Oliver smiled and opened the door. Together they walked into the mansion and stepped into the living area where Moria was sitting, reading. She looked up as they entered and smiled.

"Ah Oliver. Felicity. I'm glad to see you following through on your promise to Thea." Moria spoke. Felicity stayed where she was as Oliver moved towards his mother. As his face harden, Moria's smile slipped off her face. She set her book down and stood up.

For a few tense seconds, neither spoke.

"I stood by you after the Undertaking." Oliver whispered with tears in his eyes. Moria's eyes widened. "I wanted to believe that you weren't the…monster that everyone thought you were."

Moria stepped forward, but Oliver put up his hand and glared at her.

"But that's what you are. A monster and a liar."

"Oliver. Please." Moria croaked out. "I only lied to protect Thea from Malcom."

"You lied because that's what you do." Oliver spoke as loud as possible without yelling. "And now both me and Felicity have to lie to protect this secret too. Thea can never know. About Malcom or that I'm done with you"

Felicity blanched at that. Her and Oliver had not discussed this, and frankly, Felicity believed that Thea needed to know.

"We will act for Thea's sake, but from now on we are done." Oliver growled, stepping back. "You're not my mother, and you're not the grandmother of my child."

"Oliver." Moria cried, before looking to Felicity for help who could only look on with tears in her eyes.

Oliver turned around and placed an arm around Felicity's shoulders before guiding them both up the stairs. Felicity stayed quiet and rubbed her arm over Oliver's back.

Before they turned the corner, Felicity stole a look over her shoulder to where Moria was standing and staring up at them with tears in her eyes.

She looked like a mother who had just lost her son.

Oliver kept quiet as they walked up to his room. It wasn't till they entered did Felicity realize that she had actually never been in Oliver's room before.

The first thing she noticed was how huge it was. Her whole apartment could fit in his room. The second thing she noticed was Oliver's very large bed, which after the longest week ever was calling her name.

Felicity sat down on the edge of it as Oliver disappeared into one door which was probably the closet if the change of clothes and shirt in his hands when he returned was any indication. He shoved the shirt towards her. Felicity just looked at it.

"Oliver." Felicity whispered, looking up to him. Oliver's face was stone cold, and if she was anyone else, she would have thought he wasn't feeling anything. But Felicity could see the pain and anger in his eyes. "Don't you think that was a little…harsh?"

Oliver moved back like he had been slapped.

"She lied Felicity." He ground out. "You were the one who told me she lied."

"Because you deserved to know. Like Thea has a right to know." Felicity reasoned. Oliver's eyes flashed. "Not because I wanted you to cut your mother out of your life or so you could keep this from Thea."

"Thea knowing about Malcom would only hurt her." Oliver growled out, pacing his room back and forth.

"And if she finds out some other way? Thea would be devastated if she found out that you knew and didn't tell her. And maybe you should give your mother another chance." Felicity called over her shoulder where Oliver had moved to before stripping of her clothes and putting on the shirt Oliver had given her. Even with her extended stomach, it still reached to her knees.

"She's not going to find out." Oliver bit out, returning from wherever he had gone, to stand in front of her with a glare. "And I've given my mother too many chances. I'm done with her, and I can't believe you don't feel the same."

"She was doing what she thought was best to protect her children, Oliver." Felicity said, looking up at him and placing a hand on her tummy. His glare softened. "I can understand doing what it takes to protect my child."

Oliver kneeled down to her eye level and placed a hand over hers. For a second, it was just their family and the outside world didn't exist.

"Can we talk about something else?" Oliver suggested.

Felicity knew that Oliver was as stubborn as he was protective so she nodded in agreement before laying back on Oliver's very comfortable bed. Oliver turned off the light and joined her bed. She laid her head on his chest and breathed in tune with him.

"What do you think about Noah?" Felicity quietly suggested. Oliver chuckled and rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

"Thought we agreed no religious names." Oliver said. Felicity huffed. "At this rate, we'll never find a name for him or her."

"You're right." She deliberately kept her tone light. "Better call him Thomas Robert then."

Felicity felt Oliver still.

She had thought about names a lot, and nothing seemed better than if they had a boy naming him after two of the most important men in Oliver's life. Two men who made Oliver the man she loved.

Felicity looked up at Oliver who had an adoring smile on his face.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." She whispered back before Oliver captured her lips with his.


End file.
